War for Meridian's Throne
by XV-Dragon
Summary: When Phobos tried to take over Meridian another relative became Meridian's ruler instead of Elyon. When this happend Phobos started a civil war to over throw her saying she was the one who tried over throw his family. How will this change how things went?
1. The Start of a Civil War

AN: I am taking a brake from my work on 'The Shunned One' so my beta Sniper Fodder can catch up with back log of chapters for that story. Once he does I'll be going back and fourth between these two story so both will be updated regularly.

I would like to give my thanks to my beta for this story KnightofFaerun for his work on editing this story. With out it the fic might not be as good as it is now.

I would also like to give alik some credit fo this fic as well because it was his/her story 'The Other Princess of Meridian' that helped inspire me to write this.

Now for the disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H. If I did I would have you guys watching the third season right now. Now on with the story!

Chapter 1: The Start of a Civil War

A woman woke up in the middle of the night hearing a voice in her head she knew well saying 'Danger!' The woman opened her eyes to see three Lurdens standing over her with large axes raised to strike.

With out hesitating the woman yelled out "Air!" a blast of the element sent the creatures flying back against a wall before they could strike. The woman then sprang from her bed and yelled out 'Water!" a blast of the cold liquid drenched the creatures. The woman wrapped it up with one last blast of the air element to freeze the Lurdens, turning them into ice sculptures.

"How did these things get inside the castle?" The woman asked, panting a bit from the sudden need to use her magic. This woman was Princess Susan, formally second in line for the Meridian throne up until her niece was born a few weeks ago.

While Susan was not the heir to the throne, her powers were derived from Meridian itself. Her sister, Queen Weira, was the Heart of Meridian but that didn't mean she was only member of the royal family with access to those incredible abilities.

Like all worlds, there resides a great deal of magic within the planet itself. The Heart of a world, while being very powerful in its own right, also acts like a valve that controls the amount of magic that flows throughout the planet.

With this other major source of magic, the Heart of a world can let other beings have magic without the Heart draining its own power to do so. This allows the Heart of that world to protect its world to its fullest ability. But the majority of the Meridian royal family believed that due to a few past events that only they should be the ones with magic.

Things like massive spell duels or those who sought to overthrow the royal family made the past Queens shut off the flow of magic to common people. They believed that the commoners did not know how to deal with the responsibility of wielding magic but Susan was not a believer of this.

That was what made Susan believe the voice of Meridian spoke to her so clearly, the same voice that warned her of the Lurdens that were about to kill her. Weira may be the Heart of Meridian but Susan was called the Spirit of Meridian because of this connection.

But none of that mattered right now to Susan, as she grew worried about her sister and her family. If the Lurdens were trying to kill her then what about them and her daughter! 'Wilhelmina! I need to check and make sure she is alright!' Susan thought to herself in a panic and teleported to her daughter's nursery.

She arrived just in time to see several Lurdens advancing towards her Daughter's crib and Susan was going to make sure that was as close as they were going to get…EVER! "Air and Water!" Susan roared in a furry that only a mother protecting her child could have. The two elements combined to create an attack that literally froze the Lurdens in their tracks.

The commotion had awoken the slumbering six-month-old baby from her peaceful slumber and she was now crying up a storm. Susan rushed over to her daughter and used her magic to entice the baby to go back go back to sleep.

Normally she would just sooth her daughter the old fashioned way but Susan needed to check on Weira and her family. Using her magic to instantly change from her nightgown to a sky blue sorceress robe that also gave her full freedom of movement, Susan then made her way down the castle hallways.

Susan was heading for her sisters room when she heard something coming from up ahead. It sounded like a battle of magic and if Susan guessed right it would be near her niece Elyon's nursery.

Susan knew she had to check this out so to ensure Elyon's safety and quickly headed to where the battle sounds were coming from. Once Susan got there the one thing she did not expect to see was happening. Her own nephew, Phobos, was attacking Weira.

Weira believed her son did not need magic because he was a boy and thus would never rule so she stripped him of his magic at birth. The only way Phobos could use magic with out draining his own life force was if he was gaining power from another source; but from what?

Susan did not have time to contemplate this as Phobos unleashed a powerful blast of white energy towards his mother but Weira deflected it with ease. "Phobos, why have you done this!" Weira demanded making Susan hide around the corner to hear this argument out.

Phobos glared at his mother in anger and growled out, "Because you and the rest your kind take every thing that should have been rightfully mine!" This made Susan feel that this was going to get uglier than it already was.

"And what does that mean exactly?" The Queen of Meridian demanded as she glared at her son with a level of anger that Susan did not believe a mother could ever give her own child. Phobos countered with equal furry as he once again growled out his response. "You think only women have a right to anything! You took my power before I even had chance to prove you right or wrong. Then you give birth to that thing in the room behind you that took my right to rule! Well it ends here!"

This outraged Weira even more and she roared out, "So you gather an army of those disgusting creatures and have them try to murder your own family!?"

This brought a disturbingly pleased smirk to Phobos' face. "Correct well, almost correct any way. Isn't that right, Cedric?" the prince asked a large snake-like being came out of the nursery behind Weira. Before the Queen could do any thing to defend her self, the snake creature swung its tail at her, sending her flying into the wall. She landed just behind Phobos who was looking down at his mother with a look of triumph.

"Oh how I longed for this day" the Prince said with a sadistic grin on his face as strange vines started wrapping around Weira and brought her up to eye level with her son. She could not move or break free of the vines and noticed they were also wrapping around her son but not in a way to restrain him though.

"What are you? Aaaahhhh!" Weira screamed in pain, as the vines seemed to be sucking her energy out of her and was flowing into Phobos. Phobos let out an evil laugh as he yelled out, "The power of Meridian is mine at last!"

Weira did not know what was going on but Susan did. 'He drains life force from others. That's how he can use magic without draining his own!' Susan thought to her self and in fear for her sister's life came out from behind the corner and prepared to attack her nephew.

"Phobos, you will pay! Fire!" Susan yelled and a barrage of fireballs launched towards Phobos. Hearing his aunt's yell he turned to see the fireballs coming at him. His instinct taking over he had the vines release him and dived out of the way of the incoming attack.

Weira would not be so fortunate because now that Phobos was out of the way for there was nothing to shield her from the attack that was meant to save her was now going to be her end as she was incinerated by the fire.

"No!" Susan screamed in horror while Phobos let out another sadistic laugh. "Ah I could not think of a better end to that wretched thing I called a mother. Though I am a bit surprised you're still alive, Aunt Susan. I guess I should not be. After all this world always seems to help you in tight spots, doesn't it?" the prince said with an evil grin on his face.

Susan was still in too much of a shock from what she had accidentally done while Phobos continued to gloat. "Now all that is left to do is to get rid of you and the two annoying brats. Then there will be no one left to challenge my right to the throne and all its power!"

This snapped Susan from her shock and was once again preparing to attack Phobos when the voice of Meridian spoke to her once again 'This line is unworthy of being the Heart, now is the time for a new line to take the throne!'

With that, a bright light came from the nursery from behind Cedric and Phobos and they along with Susan looked to see what was going on. An orb of white light was hovering over Elyon who was crying from all the noise and bright light. The three spectators saw energy flowing out of Elyon and both Phobos and Susan knew what it was.

"Yes that's right. Come to me, power of Meridian!" Phobos said thinking Meridian itself also supported his beliefs but he was about to be proven wrong. The orb of light finally stopped drawing energy from the small baby and shot out of the room. Instead of heading to Phobos as he expected, the light went right past him and flew right into Susan.

The sister of the deceased Queen was engulfed in white light and felt a large amount of power surging through her. "No! Phobos roared in outrage as he watched the power that he believed was rightfully his was once again being taken from him.

He knew the chances of winning now were practically zero now that his Aunt Susan was infused with that much power, she had already bin been a powerful force to be reckoned with before. Now by gaining the power of the ruler of Meridian it made her even stronger then than his mother had bin been.

Phobos knew he had to cut his losses and retreat so he turned to Cedric and say said, "We are leaving before my aunt is finished gaining my mother's and sister's powers. This got a firm nod from the reptile and Phobos teleported away.

When the light died down, Susan looked around for Phobos but as expected he was gone. He always was one to know when he was outmatched. He is also the type who tries to turn someone else's victory into his own. 'I wonder how he's going to try to turn this around?' Susan thought to herself with great concern.

But right now she had something else to worry about other the Phobos. There was still a crying baby Elyon to comfort and now that both the poor girl's parents were gone it was now up to Susan to do the comforting.

Susan went into her niece's room and rocked the tiny baby back and fourth whispering, "Its alright Elyon, Aunty Susan is here. I'll try my best to raise you and Wilhelmina as best I can. I promise"

But Susan was not going to be able to keep that promise knowing how far Phobos would sink to win against her, the most powerful Queen to ever rule Meridian. Now that Susan power had doubled if not tripled in strength he could not win against her on his own. But that did not mean she was unbeatable in his eyes, not when she had given him the perfect means to fight her.

Due to his aunt's well known affinity for the five elements and that he (to the public) had no magic it made it easy to blame the uprising against his mother on Susan. With the fact that there were burnt vines and the burnt body of their fallen Queen it made a very convincing story.

Though Phobos had not counted on one thing, on how much the people loved Susan. They all of course cared for Weira to, but the former Queen kept her distance from them as most royals did, but Susan often walked the city streets and conversed with the people often hearing their opinions, complaints, and concerns directly. They preferred this to having to go through the 'proper channels' to have Weira hear them.

This also provided Susan some means of defense when she said her side of the story and it also let them know Susan very well. While it did not stop Phobos getting the one thing he wanted which was a rebellion against his Aunt there were still many who sided with Susan. These people would accept her as the new Queen of Meridian without question and would side with her against Phobos' rebel forces.

-----

This was when things got bad, unfortunately. Phobos told the members of the rebellion that Susan was planning to use both his sister and cousin to clench her claim to the throne. This led to a problem for the two Princesses and the new Queen.

Two couples that looked after Elyon and Wilhelmina when Susan was busy both decided eliminate this problem. Though nether couple knew of the others plans both wanted remove the two babies as factors in this civil war but for two very different reasons.

One of the couples the Brown family, took Elyon because they did not know whom to believe. So until they could tell if it was Prince Phobos or Queen Susan was lying they took Elyon so to keep her from getting caught up in the war.

The other, the Vandom family, had less than pleasant reasons. They believed Phobos' lies and sought to rob the 'false' Queen of her only daughter to ensure the other princess' right to the throne.

The one thing that led the two couples to do this was the creation of the Veil. If Candracar was cutting them off from the other worlds this made all the different groups thinking of reasons for it.

Each group's reason for it was different, each reflecting their view of war. Susan and the ones who followed her believed that the Oracle and his council saw Phobos as too large a threat and it was too risky to leaving him uncontained.

The rebels thought the opposite thinking that Candracar was trying to keep Susan's 'corruption' from spreading to other worlds.

The Browns feared that the war between them might have been getting out of hand in the eyes of The Council of Candracar at were trying to keep it from dragging others worlds into it.

The Vandom's thought the same as the rebels but also saw it as a way to keep Susan from reclaiming her daughter.

Taking advantage of this, the two different couples took their chosen child and tried to find a portal to Earth were they could hide until the war was over. The Browns had managed to get their hand on the Seal of Phobos. One of Susan's spies in the rebellion managed to steal it and bring it to Susan. It took a while but they managed to steal it from the royal treasury and used it to escape to Earth but lost the seal during the escape.

The Vandom couple only escaped because of a random portal appearing while they kidnapped Susan's daughter and were making a run for it. But as they passed through the portal they heard a mysterious voice speak inside their minds.

"Care for the child you have taken as your own and great fortune you shall behold, but mistreat the child and Meridian's and mother's wrath shall be your only reward" the strange voice warned and then as they exited the portal it closed behind them.

The woman looked over to her husband and asked in fear "W-What was that Tony?" The one called Tony looked at his wife with bit of fear in his eyes in them as well but shook it off.

It does not matter Serena, lets just figure out were we can hide this brat until his highness Prince Phobos can defeat that traitor." Tony said and they set off to figure out this world called Earth.

------

Back in Meridian, Susan was in a state of anger and grief. She has lost her daughter and niece and had ordered them to be found no matter what the cost. But it was no use and she had locked herself away in her room refusing to see anyone.

Those who believed in Susan were outraged that anyone would dare take the two princesses from her highness and were on a witch-hunt for rebel members thinking they had kidnapped the two small girls.

If it were not for every villager and soldier not on their side hunting for them, the rebels would have been celebrating even harder then they were, now that Susan could no longer 'corrupt' ether princess. Well all but a handful of rebels were pleased by this turn of events any way.

Cedric slithered up next to his lord and asked, Will this affect your plans my Lord?" the snake creature asked as he watched Phobos expression to see how the question affected him.

Phobos face showed signs of annoyance as he answered "To a degree, yes, I had hoped to use them as shields to combat my aunt directly but I guess it can't be helped." The real tyrant of Meridian said as he watched his so called army act like fools. They were having a small party to celebrate the so-called heroes who 'liberated' his cousin and sister from his aunt.

After a moment Cedric spoke again. "Well in theory anything that boosts the spirits of these fools could be helpful later." The snake suggested and that did bring a smirk to the Prince face.

"Yes this is true but now the anger of their Queen being emotionally harmed has riled up her own forces. Soon my aunt will regain her fighting spirit and will be able to channel their anger into a more productive method of use. Then we will be in trouble Phobos said but still had his smirk on his face.

After a few more moments the evil prince's gave his servant an order "Go gather the other rebel leaders. We might as well make plans to press our advantage while my aunts forces are less organized."

With that, the snake slithered off while Phobos thought to himself. "The veil will weaken and portals will become more common in a few years. For now it's a mere matter of waiting for that to happen. Then I can use my 'dear' relatives to crush my aunt once and for all."

---

Well there you go let me know what you think.


	2. Now It Truly Begins

Here is the next chapter. Once again I owe KnightofFaerun for helping with this by being my beta (Thanks a lot man!)

Just so you guys know I'll be using a lot episode rewrites in this so you all will probably see a lot of your favorite episodes in here but with a few twists due ot the AU nature of this fic.

Disclaimer: Don't own W.I.T.C.H. so please don't sue.

Chapter 2: Now It Truly Begins

It has been over twelve years since Princess Elyon and Princess Wilhelmina have been taken and the war between Queen Susan and Prince Phobos was still going strong. The battles were never very large ones though, the rebels preferring hit and run tactics over direct combat since they lacked the numbers and formal training of the royal army.

Right now though they were using another tactic: stealing. A young man with brown hair and green eyes dressed in a brown trench coat with brown pants and a white shirt was climbing the walls of the castle.

He was called Caleb and he was the leader of the rebellion. Most had thought Phobos would be the one leading their forces, but the Prince had said that a leader needed to be able to lead their forces in battle which was something he could not do.

If he ever showed his face on the battlefield, his Aunt would appear to try and defeat him herself. They knew why, it was because in their eyes she saw him as the biggest threat to her since he could use magic.

Phobos using clever and well-timed lies had said he had 'discovered' how he could use magic again. Phobos explained that by gathering life force from other sources he could give himself the extra energy needed to use magic without shortening his own life.

Caleb not being able to see through the Prince's lies fell for them hook, line and sinker. Every one did in fact; Phobos was that good at deception and the rebels at the time saw the Prince's discovery as a ray of hope of defeating the 'traitor' Susan.

Caleb was named leader of the rebellion when he took over for his father, Julian, after he was believed lost in the battle of Green Woods years ago. Unlike most leaders though Caleb believed in doing things himself and that was why he was the one sneaking into the castle.

Caleb was planning raiding the armory for weapons or, to be specific, explosive powder. Once inside, Caleb began throwing barrel after barrel out the window to his friend Aldarn below. But as he was doing so, several guards saw them dropping out the window and sounded the alarm.

This was Caleb's cue to get out of there but not before he 'tested' the quality of the powder. This was something the guards did not appreciate seeing how they ended up as the test subjects but it bought the rebel leader plenty of time to escape.

-

As the rest of the guards came to make sure their comrades were all right, Susan appeared in her traditional sky-blue sorceress robe but with two new additions to her attire. One was a long sword at her side, which she was quite skilled with and around her forehead was a gold crown fitted with a red gem in the center. Susan was angry at this sudden attack on her home and on her guards so she was here personally to find out what happened.

As the guards saw her enter the now destroyed armory they kneeled in her presence but Susan quickly put an end to that. "Now is not the time for that! Tend to the wounded, they take first priority!" This got the guard scrambling back to work with a "Yes, your highness!" as a response from her loyal soldiers.

After they got back to work, Susan called out "Raythor, report!" she ordered as her second in command walked up next to her. "There are no casualties, your highness. All the wounded should make a full recovery; they just need time to rest." Raythor reported and he could see his Queen was relieved at this news. It was one of the things that won the powerful soldier over to her side, not many royals cared for their troops safety and well being.

After a moment of silence, Susan asked, "Who did this and has he or she been caught along with any accomplices he or she might have had?" This made her second in command shake his head in a way that made Susan feel like it not going to be good news.

"No. He escaped along with the person who was with him from the description it seemed like it was the rebel leader Caleb who did this." This made Susan very annoyed.

"As bad as his father was, Caleb is even worse. I know they are being tricked by my nephew but I will not tolerate this, Sandpit come here!" The Queen ordered. Grains of sand then came flowing up behind her taking a large humanoid shape.

Sandpit had once been a threat to her people but shortly after she took the thrown Susan managed to convince the creature to changes its ways. This did require turning parts of the creature into glass with a lot of fire attacks but it did agree in the end.

In return for its agreement to stop swallowing up her people Susan, used the power of Quintessence to give it the ability to form a body. A week later at the village near the area Sandpit used to terrorize, the villagers openly celebrated and praised their Queen's act; much to the annoyance of some members of the rebellion.

These members were just a small part of the overall resistance and did not have much contact with the main leaders of the rebellion, leaving them to make their own decisions and many of them were bad ones. The prime example of this was when this small group tried to force the villagers to stop praising their enemy and started fight between them and the villagers.

The fight was completely one sided in the rebels' favor even though they were smaller in number. The rebel members had weapons and armor along with combat experience while the people in the village were simple farmers and craftsmen.

Sandpit seeing this in the distance grew angry. After Susan made the deal with it, the sand creature found out the deal was not a fair one. It had found that it had gained more from the deal because it had been giving it the ability to take on more complex shapes making it much stronger. All this was gained by simply leaving the villagers and their property alone, it hardly seemed like a fair trade to Sandpit.

That was why it came swarming into the village and hit like a dessert storm dealing with the rebels with ease. It had left as quickly as it came leaving the shocked villagers and wounded rebels to figure out what had happened.

Susan, hearing of Sandpit's deed, came to see the creature to thank it. At first Sandpit was afraid that Susan was there to punish it, but once Susan managed to assure this was not the case it explained what its action had really done.

Once Sandpit understood the deep politics of the matter, it allied itself with Susan to aid her in her war against Phobos. This was its way of showing thanks for it's newfound power. This had also given her forces something they desperately needed, a way to combat some of Phobos' personal warriors.

Phobos had managed to gain other powerful allies who followed the dark Prince's true goal. Along with Cedric, there was Miranda, the spider creature; Frost the Hunter; and Tracker. Raythor and her soldiers could fight the likes of Frost and Tracker but the two shape shifters were another matter.

Sandpit on the other hand was not so easily dealt with even with the combined efforts of the two shape shifters. This made Sandpit her enforcer at times and she was grateful for it.

"Sandpit, find the rebel leader, Caleb. He could not have gotten far; I want him captured and brought before me. The other one is not needed but if you can get him as well but Caleb is your main target." Susan instructed.

With what seemed like a nod Sandpit shifted its shape into a stream of sand and dives out the hole created by the explosion from earlier. It had launched itself with enough force to easily avoid landing in the moat and took after the two run away rebels.

-

Elsewhere on the world called Earth, a lone girl was walking in the rain towards a school. She had short bright red hair and brown eyes and was dressed in a pink jacket, red sweater and black jeans with her back slung over her shoulder.

Her name was Will Vandom and she was new girl at this school since her parents moved here just a few days before school started. They seemed to not want to be in Heatherfield but moved here anyway, the reasons for this unknown to her but she would be finding out why in a most unexpected way.

Will looked on as she saw other kids being dropped off by their parents with a longing expression on her face. 'Why can't I have parents that would do that for me? Why is it I can't seem to do anything right in their eyes?' Will thought sadly to herself as entered the school grounds.

Once inside, she went into the gym where the school science fair was being held. It was mostly a way for kids to get extra credit at the start of the year so it was not necessary for every student to do. If it had been, then Will would have been in trouble because with all the work her parents had her doing she barely had time to do homework let alone something big like a science fair project.

Once inside, Will saw a group of girls she saw often in the school hallways. First there was Cornelia, the most popular girl in the school with the makings of future supermodel written all over her. She was wearing a pink shirt and skirt and had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

Next there was Taranee, probably the smartest girl in the whole school though she was also the shyest. She was wearing an orange sweater and brown pants and had short black hair, dark skin and brown eyes.

Then there was Irma who was the biggest tomboy and joker you would ever meet. She was wearing a red shirt, brown jacket and blue jeans and had blue eyes and brown hair.

Next to Irma was Hay Lin, a very hyper active and artistic girl with long black hair and brown eyes and was wearing yellow and red sweater with a green skirt.

The only one who was missing was Cornelia's best friend, Elyon, but she was probably around somewhere and would show up sooner or later. Since they were such close friends, Will often envied them since she never had any friends herself.

'Wonder what it would be like to have friends like that?' Will thought to herself sadly then noticed Hay Lin running up to her.

"Hey, Will. The girls and I are getting together at my place after school, you want to come?" this had shocked Will beyond belief. From out of the blue she is invited to hang out with a bunch of girls she hardly knew!

Will knew she had to say no if she didn't and her parents found there would be trouble but as she started to speak something else came out. "Sure. Meet you at the front of school at three?"

'What?!' Will screamed in her mind at what her mouth did on its own. She could not go! What if her parents found out! Why did she say that any way?!

But before she could correct what had happened, Hay Lin responded

"Great, see you then!" and practically skipped back to her friends.

As Will walked away trying to figure out what had just happened she heard something that made her feel worse. "Why did you invite the new girl?" she heard Cornelia asking, making Will walk faster so she did not have to hear the response.

-

Later at the Silver Dragon, all five girls were sitting at a table eating in dead silence. Irma tired to break it by mimicking an old man's voice and telling them all to quiet down. No one laughed but it did help break the ice a bit.

"So Will, where did you live before Heatherfield?" Taranee asked. Before Will could answer, Cornelia interrupted by asking if anyone had seen anything strange happening around here lately.

Irma made a sarcastic wisecrack at this, which made the two glare at each other and keeping anyone from asking more about Will's past. This was something the red headed girl was thankful for as Yan Lin came into the room.

"Are you girls enjoying your food?" The kindly old woman asked which everyone said yes. But then Irma, being comedian, added "But more importantly, is Cornelia enjoying her food?"

This got a giggle out of everyone but the blonde as Will opened up a fortune cookie and read it aloud "You will soon make a new best friend." She looked up to see Irma winking at her and received a smile from Hay Lin.

Will thought that they might be hinting that they if not whole group would be her friends, but Will knew she could never have any. Her parents would never allow it that was for sure.

That was when Yan Lin said she was going to tell them a story. Hay Lin tried to tell her grandmother it was not necessary but the old woman insisted.

Then Yan Lin started. "Almost thirteen years ago, all worlds in existence lived in harmony, but then the world of Meridian had an uprising that was growing out of control." The room grew dark and an illusion filled the room showing some sort of map of the universe. One of the worlds grew brighter making every guess that was the place called Meridian.

"What started the uprising has been under debate since it began. The Queen of Meridian was killed and one of two people is believed to be the culprit." Yan Lin explained and two images appeared. One was a woman in her early thirties and the other was a man in his late twenties.

"The young man is Princes Phobos and the woman is Queen Susan. Phobos accuses his Aunt Susan of killing his mother, the former Queen, while Susan says Phobos is to blame. Once Susan took the throne, Phobos started a rebellion against her causing a terrible civil war"

This was when Cornelia stood and said, "This is nice and all but I'm…" But Yan Lin gave the young girl a look that said, "Please let me finish." This made the blond quickly sit down again.

Yan Lin continued. "As a safety measure to keep the war from spreading, a Veil was raised to cut Meridian off from all other worlds. But as time went on the Veil weakened and portals started forming, connecting our world to the world of Meridian. To deal with this, magical beings called Guardians use their powers to close these portals and keep the war contained."

With that, the room returned too normal as the images faded away and Yan Lin continued. "I became a Guardian at your age, but now it is time for you five to take over as the new Guardians."

With that, Yan Lin took a flowerpot over to Cornelia and placed it in front of the blond. "I am sure each of you have been noticing strange things happening around you lately." The old said and looked at Cornelia knowingly.

"To you Cornelia is the power of Earth." Yan Lin explained and gestured to the flowerpot. Reluctantly Cornelia held her hand over the pot and a flower sprout instantly and shortly afterwards the roots broke through the sides breaking the pot.

"To you Irma is the power of Water." With that Irma took her straw out of her glass and made water swirl around in the air.

"To you Taranee is the power of Fire." With that, Taranee nervously pointed her finger at a candle and shot a small spark at it. The shot missed and hit a banana, which Irma quickly put out with her powers.

"And to you, my little Hay Lin, is the power of Air." Yan Lin said to her granddaughter and held up a paper lamp that was flat. Hay Lin took a deep breath and let it out towards the lamp to make it take its real shape.

This was when Taranee spoke up "You said the five of us, what about Will?" This had all the girls looking at the red headed expectantly. Will raised her hands up in front of her and said, "Hey, I can't even do card tricks so don't look at me!"

This made Yan Lin smile, as she took out a necklace with pink jewel in a metal frame. "This is the Heart of Candracar. Using it, the Keeper can transform and augment the power of the other Guardians. This is also used to close the portals that open up."

Yan Lin slipped the powerful object around Will's neck. As Yan Lin stepped away, Will felt a powerful force flowing through her. The force was so strong she took it off quickly and said, "Wow! No way."

-

In Meridian, Susan heard the voice of Meridian speak to her saying only three words: 'They have gathered.'

In a swift motion Susan took some sand next to the throne and threw it down to a spot down at the bottom of the steps that lead to it. The sands spread out and flowed around in a circle creating the Viewing Pool.

Inside the swirling sands an image of a red headed girl appeared and she was wearing the Heart of Candracar. 'New Guardians have been chosen, but who are they siding with?' Susan thought to herself as started making plans at this development meant just in case.

-

After they had finished up at the Silver Dragon, the five girls had gone to a secluded spot to practice their new powers. Out of the whole group, Hay Lin probably had the most success at using them, even if all she did zoom around like a fighter jet.

The others on the other hand some 'minor' difficulties. Little things like misdirected fire and water attacks from Taranee and Irma, or in the case of Cornelia finding out how her powers worked and how to control them.

All Will could do was try to grasp basic flying skills since she did not have any other powers or so she thought. She would find out one day that she had more power than she could ever imagine. But for now she was just trying to avoid the missile named Hay Lin who went zipping by.

After a while Will told them it was time to wrap things up for the day. Though this was also do to the fact she wanted to get home before her parents, she did not tell that to other girls in case they ask unwanted questions.

After changing them all back to normal, which made Hay Lin land in the trash, they started heading home. But then Hay Lin saw a portal opening up in front of her and called out, "Hey guys!"

The others did not turn around and Irma just said, "Hay Lin, come on. You can play in the garbage later." The other girls rolled their eyes at Irma's comment until they heard Hay Lin respond with a slight trembling sound in her voice. "I think you really need to see this."

The others slowly turned around to see the portal then rushed over to where Hay Lin was. As they did, Taranee yelled out as she pointed at the portal. "Something is coming through!"

The others looked up to see a boy jumping through but had some kind of creature mad of sand chasing after him and had him in its sandy grasp. Will, frozen in fear of the sand creature, took a while to respond to Taranee begging her to transform them again.

Will finally snapped out of it, took out the Heart and yelled, "Guardians Unite!"

The four girls quickly changed back into their more powerful forms and got ready for battle. Will quickly trying to come up with a way to save the boy ordered, "Fire!" This made look Taranee over to the redhead in confusion and ask, "You mean me?"

Will frantically shook her head and said, "No, every one!" With that the four other girls channeled their power towards Will. The energy gathered in her hand and allowed Will to fire a pink bolt of energy but she could not control it so she kept missing.

"Close the portal! Close it now!" The boy yelled out making Will remember that was what the Heart could do. Will maintained the badly controlled attack with one hand using the other to use the crystal. But as she closed the portal the sand creature pulled the boy back through.

This was when Cornelia started ranting about how Will failed to save the boy but Will was not paying attention. She was already feeling bad about not doing anything fast enough so after she changed them all back to normal she just ran away.

Will ran until she got home and much to her relief her parents were not home yet. She headed to her room and buried her face into the pillow and cried. 'I'm so pathetic. No wonder my parents hate me.' Will thought to herself as she cried her self to sleep.

-

Well there you go. Next chapter will be out as soon as possible.


	3. Double Rescue Sort Of

Finally done chapter three the biggest chapter I wrote ever! I probably should have broken it up into part but when I set a goal I stick to it!

Any I would like to thank Knight again for being my beta for this and also…I don't own W.I.T.C.H.!

---

Chapter 3: Double Rescue…Sort Of

Will woke up the next morning due to the emotional and physical drain she went through yesterday. From what she could tell either her parents came home and did not wake her or they did not come home last night. They both worked late often so she could never tell which.

Will groggily looked over at her alarm clock to see it was still thirty minutes before she needed to get up but she did any way.

Will pulled herself out of bed and headed for her dresser to get some clothes. Her room had two notable things about it: one, it was small; and two, it did not have much in it. All it had was a desk and a bed for furniture and her closet to store her clothes and her few possessions in. Will's parents always told her she only needed the bare essentials, some times even going as far to say it was better than she deserved. The last part was when they were very angry with her but it still hurt to hear it.

Will shoved those memories out of her mind as she grabbed a change of clothes and got ready for school. After a quick breakfast of a couple of slices oftoast and making her lunch, she left for school.

As she ran out the door, a single thought paced through her mind 'That boy, I wonder who he was?' Will blushed slightly at the image of the boy's face but quickly shook the image out of her head as she headed for school.

As she walked she prayed that she could avoid running into the other girls, especially Cornelia, at school. 'They are all probably as mad at me as Cornelia was. 'If I had only tried harder that boy would not have been taken.' This thought brought a tear to her eye thinking she missed her only chance at having real friends.

---

In Meridian, Caleb was standing before Susan with his hand chained behind his back. Sandpit loomed over Caleb keeping a watch over the rebel leader as Susan spoke in a commanding voice, "You will tell us where your base is and the location of the traitor Phobos"

Caleb, with a look of defiance in eyes responded, "I'll never tell you anything, murderer!"

Raythor who was standing next to his Queen roared out, "How dare you accuse her highness of Prince Phobos' crime!" Sandpit also angered by Caleb's accusation started moving to swallow the young man up when Susan stopped it.

"Sandpit, I can't get the information I need from a corps." the Queen said warning the sand creature then looked over to her second in command. "And Raythor don't waste your breath on him, you know full well my nephew deceived them so utterly they can't…" She was saying until Caleb started yelling.

"You're the one who is deceiving the people of Meridian!" he roared but then an invisible force hit him in the stomach. The force of the hit sent him skipping across the floor of the throne room and stop right in front of a pair of guards.

After that an annoyed Susan stood up and teleported over to where the fallen rebel was and watched the boy as he had trouble breathing. The blow must have knocked the wind out of him, which the Queen found a bit amusing since it was a ball of compressed air that hit the rebel leader so hard.

"Guards, take him to the dungeon. Perhaps a week or two in the pit might make him willing to talk." Susan ordered and the two guards grabbed Caleb and dragged him away. Raythor then walked up behind his Queen and asked "Don't you think that was a bit much, your highness? I know the fool was out of line but…"

Raythor fell silent as Susan raised her hand signal him to stop so she could speak. "I know but his words angered me so I let my emotions get the best of me. You would think I would have learned a little control by now." Susan said with a sigh.

She then signaled Raythor to follow her and summoned the sand for the viewing pool to appear in her hand. Once she was at the right spot she throws the sand down and an image of Will's face appears.

"I want you and Sandpit to bring me this girl. I'll have a portal open up in several hours at a location were you can get her without incident." Susan said to a very confused Raythor and Sandpit.

Susan, noticing this, waited for Raythor to ask his question, which took a minute for him to do so most likely trying to make sense of the request. "If I may be so bold, your highness…why is it that you want the girl? Do you believe she is…your daughter?"

Now it was Susan's turn to looked confused then looked back the pool and realized something. "Now that you mention it I do see a resemblance, but no I don't believe she is my daughter. If she were I would be tearing the Veil apart so I could get my hands on the Oracle."

This made Raythor even more confused but Susan started speaking again "This girl is the new Keeper of the Hear of Candracar. I wish to speak with her so please bring her to me and do try to be gentle. She maybe a Guardian but she is still a young girl after all and I don't wish to frighten her more than necessary."

Raythor and Sandpit both nodded; both knew the importance of this task. If the Guardians side with them then it might gather more support against Phobos, but it could work the other way as well so they needed be the ones to speak with the Keeper first.

---

Will was just heading home after a day of playing 'Hide from the other Guardians'. She thought she had succeeded when a hand was suddenly placed on her shoulder. Will turned around to see it was Irma and the other girls. The way Irma was locking eyes with her made Will nervously squeak out. "Um…hi."

Irma wordlessly pulled Will over to were Cornelia was who was looking at the ground while Hay Lin and Taranee were glaring at the blonde. This was out of character for all the girls but Will was too scared to note this fact.

"Will, I think Cornelia has something to say to you, isn't that right Cornelia?" Irma said as she kept a firm grip on Will's shoulders. Irma was going to make sure Will heard this no matter what.

Will was expecting something bad, braced herself for the yelling to begin when she heard, "Will…I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. I should not have blamed you for what happened to that boy."

Will was shocked at this; Cornelia Hale did not apologize for anything! The fact that she was apologizing for something that was not her fault was also shocking Will. "Cornelia wait, you don't need to…" Will started saying until Irma spoke up.

"Oh yes she does! This Guardian thing is a team thing so if something goes wrong it's no one person's fault, it's everyone's fault." Irma said firmly then let Will go. With that the mood among the girls was much lighter after what Cornelia said...which confused Will.

To the red head, she believed the same thing that Cornelia did yesterday, that it was her fault that the boy was taken by because she did not react fast enough. Will was snapped out of this train of thought by Irma saying, "Okay now that that's over and done with lets head home."

The girls then started heading home. Will only went along because she heard Irma started saying she wanted go to Meridian and kick some butt and save that boy so she followed hoping to talk her out of it. Afterall, they were far from able to control their powers and Will did not want to go diving into 'fight bad guys' when they were not sure who were the bad guys.

"Irma, I think we should just stick to practicing our powers for now. At the moment we can't even control our powers, plus who would we fight, the Queen or the Prince?" Will asked.

The others had to admit Will was right on both accounts. They did not have basic mastery of their power yet and even if they did who were they to fight? They each had their own opinions about who the guilty one was but they knew that their beliefs had no solid grounding.

Irma and Hay Lin believed it was Phobos, this was because when they saw the images of the two possible killers though the Prince's image had colder and darker aura to it.

Cornelia and Taranee thought it might be Queen Susan because it seemed like she had the better motive. After the 'incident' that happened after the practice session Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin had gone back to the Silver Dragon to tell Yan Lin what happened.

After Yan Lin made the four girls call a truce about what happened with Will, Yan Lin had told them a little more about Meridian's situation. Yan Lin explained basics of Meridian's government and about the two missing princesses.

This was what led Cornelia and Taranee to believe that the current Queen was the one who started the war. Susan was next in line for the throne even with Phobos around since women took priority over men when it came to determining who succeeded who.

Susan was also the first to give birth to a daughter which further strengthened her claim to the throne but with the former Queen giving birth to a daughter of her own, negating all of Susan's rights to succeed her sister the current Queen may have decided to take the throne by force.

But Yan Lin hearing the four girls opinions told them that it that way of thinking that prolonged the war. The exact objectives for the Guardians of the Veil were three simple things.

First was the most simple, and for the moment, main focus of the mission which was to close the portals. This was so the girls could take their time to achieve the other two objectives, which were much harder.

The second was to try and find out who really did murder the former Queen and started the war. This objective would be key to ending the war because with solid proof against who ever was the guilty party would make them loose all their support. This would make it easy for the other to deliver the final blow that would end the war.

The third objective was to locate the two princesses so they could provide the final key to bring stability back to Meridian. Without them it would not matter who won the war.

If Phobos was telling the truth then he could only be declared Regent of Meridian thus limiting his authority to make changes that might be needed after such a long war. Meridian would be in rough shape and would need some one who could make those changes quickly. Phobos would have the skill to do so but Meridian's laws would prevent him from doing anything quickly enough to be of much help.

If Susan were telling the truth then she would not have someone to act as her heir possibly igniting another civil war of who would succeed Susan. This would only happen after Susan died of course but the sooner her daughter and/or niece was back the better.

This was the least important of the three objectives because if ether princess was back before the war was over ether side, wheter they were the right one or not, would try to have that girl support their cause. This could tip the balance of power and if it was for the wrong side the end results could be devastating for the war-torn kingdom.

The girls explained this information to Will so she would be in the loop and could hear what she thought of it all. They could tell she was as overwhelmed by the complexity of their mission as they had been when Yan Lin explained it.

"Good thing our main focus for now is just closing portals. That means we can take our time to decide what to do, though I guess this means we got to go there eventually. So who do you guys think we should see first when we do head to Meridian?" Will asked a bit relieved that they did not need to cross over to Meridian any time soon.

"The Rebels." Taranee and Cornelia said at the same time as Irma and Hay Lin said, "Queen Susan"

Will looked back and forth between the two pairs who had different views on what to do for the second objective of the mission. The two pairs were glaring at each other so Will knew she needed to play peacemaker.

"Okay…guess that means I'm the tie breaker…how about we wait until we do make our first trip to Meridian before deciding?" This made every one give reluctant nods of their heads but at least they stopped glaring at each other, much to Will's relief.

Shortly after words they reached where Will needed to head another way to get home. Will looked back at the other girls and asked "Guess none of you head this way?" Will was enjoying the company and was sad to be splitting up so soon.

"I head that way most times but my dad's cooking tonight so I'm hiding out at Irma's place." Taranee said as the others started to walk further down the road. As Taranee ran to catch up, she yelled back, "See you tomorrow, Will!"

Will waved back reluctantly as she watched the others head off in the distance. Will would never say this out load but a part of her was feeling that the other girls were just pretending to be her friends because she was the Keeper of the Heart.

'Afterall, who would want to be around a worthless girl like me unless they needed me for something?' Will thought to herself. It was her parents' actions that made her feel this way and so since no one ever told her otherwise she always thought it was the truth.

Will was so wrapped up in her moment of depression she did notice the out of place sand that covered the middle of the alley she was walking until it was to late. The sand quickly wrapped around Will's legs, startling her so she did the only thing she could do, she used her backpack to try and knock the sand away so she could free her legs and run.

But an arm of sand then started to form and ripped the bag from Will's grasp and flung it out of Will's reach. The sand then finished wrapping around Will's body and flew through a hidden portal that closed the instant the creature had finished going through.

---

Raythor was waiting on the other side of the portal for Sandpit to return with the Keeper of the Heart. He knew his Queen would be upset with the lack of diplomacy used in bringing the Guardian here but he thought it best to get the girl to her highness as soon as possible.

Raythor then heard the sounds of something coming through the portal and had the guards get clear. He did not want them to be on the receiving end of a panicked Guardian's power after all, so he thought it was best that he and Sandpit took the brunt of any attacks.

Once Sandpit was through the spell his Queen had cast on it took effect making it close automatically once something had passed . Sandpit's 'body' then unwrapped itself from around its target to reveal the red headed girl it had brought back with it.

Will's knees were giving out from beneath her but Raythor was there to catch her before she collapsed. Will looked up to see who had caught her and met eye to eye with Raythor's smiling face.

"My apologizes for this but her highness wants to speak with you. I'll admit we should have just asked but I did not know how you would react so I had Sandpit pull that little stunt." Raythor explained gently as the girl looked up at him.

Will started to become frightened when she heard the words 'her highness' and started to look around to see were she was. It looked like something out of a fantasy movie but right now Will was wishing that this were a movie.

"Y-Y-You m-mean this is M-M-Meridian?" Will managed to stutter out despite her fear. Not that one could blame her for being scared, due to the fact that she was brought here by something that was most likely the same thing she saw yesterday and in the home of a possible enemy.

Raythor just gave the young red head before him a reassuring smile and nods his head before speaking. "Yes but don't worry her highness just wishes to speak with you. When you're ready I'll take you to see her."

Raythor then slowly let go of Will allowing the young girl to stand on her own power. He noticed that she was still a little shaky but showed no signs of collapsing again. Raythor had to admit he was a bit disappointed that the Keeper of the Heart was a not as brave as he was expecting.

Raythor did take into account that she was young, had been brought rather abruptly to a world she did not know in a less than pleasant manner and from what he could tell this was probably her first mission as a Guardian.

'Perhaps I am setting my expectations too high. If this is her first mission then it would be normal for her to be scared easily right now,' Raythor thought to himself as he waited for the Keeper to calm herself for her meeting with Queen Susan.

---

After a few minutes, Will let Raythor know she was ready for her meeting with the Queen; or at least as ready as she was going to be. Will was still scared, especially of Sandpit who she tried to keep as much distance between it and her. Raythor had a chuckle in amusement at the girl's actions towards Sandpit though Sandpit did not find them so funny.

As they headed down the corridors of the castle, Will had to admit that if the queen was the evil one her home did not show it. The general feeling of the castle was so warm and inviting it did not seem like the place a cold-hearted murderer would live. Will of course knew the old saying 'don't judge a book by its cover' but it still did not seem like a place an evil person would live.

Though Will also took into account that the Queen did have these two come and kidnap her…well the one wearing helmet did say it was his idea so maybe she should not blame the Queen just yet.

Will was defiantly sure this was the same sand creature from yesterday, though. It had to be the thing that dragged the boy back through the portal when she…failed to close it in time. Will forced those thoughts into the back of her mind; she did not want start crying again especially not in front of possible enemies.

Raythor noticed the fear and sadness on the girl's face for a few moments but did not say anything. He thought it best to not to get involved since he was part of the reason for her emotional distress and he believed he would only make it worse if tried to help calm her.

They were just reaching the two large doors to the throne room so it was not like he had much time to help the girl anyway. The two guards on ether side of the two large doors saluted the group before saying, "Her highness is waiting, Sir."

As Raythor nodded in response, the two guards then pushed the doors open to the throne room. As they walked, in Will saw the woman that Yan Lin had shown the girls yesterday sitting on one of two golden thrones atop a set of stairs.

From such a high position Will felt like a mouse with a hawk peering down at her. As they reached the foot of the stairs, Will noticed the Queen stand up and was walk down the stairs towards them.

As the woman got close, Will noticed that Queen had look of confusion on her face. After a moment of silence the Queen asked, "Why don't you have the Heart?"

This made Will look a little surprised that this woman knew she did not have the powerful object but then looked down ashamed of herself. "I-I lost it when the sand creature grabbed me." Will answered just barley load enough for the Queen to hear.

Susan then looked at Raythor and Sandpit with her expression clearly demanding an explanation. This made her second in command gulp loudly while Sandpit seemed do what it considered shivering under their Queen's gaze.

Raythor knew he had better answer his Queen's unspoken demand before things got more unpleasant. "Well you see your highness, I did not know how the Keeper would react to your request for an audience with her, so I had Sandpit…" Raythor did not get a chance to finish as his Queen interrupted.

"You mean you kidnapped her!" Susan growled out making the two cringe while Will looked up confused at why the Queen was so upset? After all they were following her order weren't they?

While Will was trying to figure out the reason for this, Susan just continued to glare at her two closest friends before finally ordering them to leave saying she would speak to them later. This meant that she would be yelling at them while using them for target practice but the two tried to put those terrifying thoughts out of their minds for the moment.

After the two left rather hastily, Will, for some reason, found it rather amusing. Susan cleared her throat to get the Guardian's full attention back on her so they could end this meeting and send the girl home as soon as possible.

This made Will look back at the Queen as she started to speak. "Before we start, I would like to apologize for Raythor and Sandpit's actions. They normally would not do such a thing but they probably thought it that urgent I speak with you."

Will looked skeptical at this statement as she said, "Funny, then how come that thing you call Sandpit has a habit of kidnapping people?" Will was of course referring to the boy from yesterday. This was a bit of an abnormally bold thing for the normally quite and unconfident girl but some of the anger at being kidnapped must have finally kicked in.

Susan looked confused at this until she remembered Sandpit's report about its capture of the rebel leader, Caleb. Most would think the sand creature would be unable to give a report seeing how it lacked a voice but when you could read minds it was easy.

This was one of the reasons for Susan to have her meeting with the Keeper of the Heart alone instead of with a whole group. If they saw Sandpit then the Guardians as a group might have become defensive at the very least, making it hard to have negotiations to say the least.

"I would like point out that the first 'kidnapping' as you call it was to capture someone who decided to set off a large explosion in one of my armories and wounded some of my men." Susan said as she made the sand for the viewing pool appear in her hand.

Susan then cast the sand towards the usual spot on the floor and showed the destroyed room. This caused Will to gasp at the destruction caused by that one boy then looked back up at the Queen. "I'm sorry. I did not know" Will said looking downward.

Susan shook her head while saying, "Don't be, there was no way you could have known. Now lets get down to business." With that Susan went over to the steps that led to the thrones and sat on the third step from the bottom. Will saw the Queen pat the spot next to her indicating she wanted Will to sit next to her.

Will moved to the spot and sat down wondering what the Queen would want to speak about. Once Will looked comfortable Susan started speaking. "Alright first of all why don't you have the Heart? A Keeper feels incomplete when separated from it so it's not something you just leave behind somewhere by accident. I told those two not to separate you from it unless it was absolutely necessary; so what happened?"

Will looked away feeling like she could not meet the Queen's eyes. Will felt like she was being scolded by her mother but the Queen was being much more gentle than her mother was when it came to such things.

Though Will did notice something that the Queen had pointed out. Will did feel like something was missing after Sandpit ripped her backpack away from her. The Heart had been inside it, which was why she did not have it right now.

Knowing the Queen would not wait forever for a response, Will finally answered the question. "When Sandpit grabbed, me I tried to free myself by hitting it with my backpack. The Heart was inside it so when Sandpit took my bag away from me I got separated from it."

Susan just looked at Will for moment as if she had seen the girl grow a second head. Once Susan started speaking with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. " You keep the one of the most powerful objects to ever exist in your bag? You do realize that it is was made into a necklace for a reason right?"

Will looked downward again as she mumbled out an "I'm sorry." This made Susan shake her head as she gently made Will look her in the eyes. "You don't need to be sorry but you do need to be more careful. What if I had been out to kidnap you instead of having this meeting? Your defenseless right now because you don't have the Heart so try to be more careful from now on alright?"

Will nodded her head understanding what the Queen was saying. Though Will was surprised by how kind and concerned the Queen was for her, a part of Will thought it could be a trick.

After all if the Queen got the Guardians on her side it might be like having one of the princesses supporting her. But at the same time Will found it hard to see this woman as a murderer. Would some like this really be able to kill herown sister just to take over a kingdom? The Queen seemed to be too kind to be such a person.

While Will was pondering all this, Susan began to speak again. "Now if I may ask what is your mission exactly? New Guardians don't get chosen for no reason after all," Susan asked wondering what purpose of this group would be and how it would affect Meridian.

Will was not sure how to answer the Queen's question. If she told the Queen that the Guardians were investigating who was the one who started the war and she was the guilty one the Queen may plan false evidence. That and if she told the Queen they were putting the search for the two princesses on the bottom of the to do list who knows what would happen.

Susan waited for the Keeper's answer, she could tell the poor girl was having a hard time deciding on what to say. Susan found this understandable seeing how this young girl was probably not sure what she was supposed to do.

After a few minutes, Will finally answered, "We have three objectives: the first one being our main focus which is closing up the portals until we are ready to move on to the second one." As Will explained Susan grew curious to the other two objectives.

"Are you not allowed to tell me the other two?" Susan asked wondering what the other parts of this young girl's mission were.

"Not sure if I should since you might interfere with our investigate…" Will quickly placed her hands over mouth to stop herself but the cat was out of the bag. Susan pieced together what the girl had tried to stop herself from saying.

Susan smiled knowingly at the girl next to her and said, "Well that was a bit of an anti climatic way to find out your second objective. I am assuming you are trying to find out who really did start this war?" Will nodded her head reluctantly knowing she could not say any thing to fix her mistake.

Susan gently placed her hand on Will's shoulder and gave the girl a reassuring smile, "Don't worry; you actually helped your mission by telling me that." the Queen said making Will look up at the Queen in confusion.

Susan knew she needed to explain further and continued. "You see since the Guardians of the Veil are five very powerful beings, I need to know your intentions if your going to be coming to Meridian regularly. If I don't tell my guards to cooperate with you then they might think you're a rebel spy and who knows what would happen then," this was said in a very serious manner making Will gulp at this oversight on her part.

Susan could tell the girl understood why she needed to know the Guardians' role in the war for Meridian. After letting the Keeper let the information soak in Susan began asking questions again. "So what is the final part of your mission? I am not sure if it will be of any importance but just to be safe maybe you should tell me. In return, I think I can provide you a very good start for your investigation."

Will was unsure about what to do about the Queen's request. What if the Queen would be upset that her daughter and niece were not top priority? But then again she did need to start finding clues to the real culprit eventually and if the Queen's offer was genuine they could finish the mission that much more quickly.

After a moment's deliberation, Will answered. "After we find out who started the war and end it we are supposed to find your daughter and niece." After saying that Will shut her eyes tight waiting for the Queen's temper to fly into a furry.

But the exact opposite happened as Will heard the Queen say, "Then I better help you get started as soon as possible." This made Will open her eyes to look at the Queen; confused by her reaction. "You're not mad that we are not looking for them right now?" Will asked in her confusion.

Susan shook her head and gave Will a sad smile as she explained her reasons, "No I prefer they not be here until the war is over. I really do want them back home but its not safe right now, it's best you and your friends do your mission in the order that you were told. I want them to come back to a peaceful Meridian; not one torn by civil war."

The more Will listened to the Queen speak, the more Will found it harder to believe the Queen was the one who murdered the former ruler of this world. The way the Queen showed concern for others and seemed to despise this war made it hard to see the woman as a murderer.

After that, Susan explained the two things that she could do to help with the Guardians' mission. "I can let your hear both sides of the story and then you can tell your fellow Guardians what you heard. Then you can make a plan what you wish to do using that information."

"How would I get both sides of the story?" Will asked wondering how this was possible. Susan just smiled knowingly as she responded, "Lets just say I have someone in my dungeon who will be more then willing to tell you how 'evil' I am. So which side do you wish to hear first?"

Will still very confused decided to hear Susan's version of things first then go speak with this other person for the rebels' point of view. Will listened to the Queen retell what happened that night that caused the civil war.

Will could easily see that the story could be changed to make Queen Susan look like the one who caused the uprising by altering the story so there was some truth mixed in with the lies. Of course the same could be said for the Queen but Will still found that hard to believe.

Once Susan was finished, she stood up and held out her hand to help Will up. Once Will was standing upright, Susan started to speak again, "Now I'll take you to speak with the rebel leader himself." Susan almost laughed at the look on the girl's face clearly not expecting the rebel leader to be in the Queen's dungeon.

"How did you pull that off?" Will finally managed to say, she would expect it would take a lot to capture some one as important as the leader of the rebels. Susan just smiled at the girl as she lead the way to the dungeons while she answered with a hint of humor in her voice, "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

As Susan and Will walked through the castle corridors Susan decided to offer some advice that might help the Keeper and the other Guardians in their search for the truth. "I think the best way for you go about finding the truth is to join the rebellion." This suggestion made Will gasp in shock as she asked, "Why would you want us fighting against you?"

"Because it will be the best place for you to find the evidence you want. You need to meet my nephew and see what you think of him, if you think he is lying then you can try to prove it by watching him and gaining proof. Plus I don't want to influence you any more than I already have, being with the rebels will make it easier to be objective, which will be critical for your mission."

Will realized what the Queen was implying. The Queen was worried that she might lead Will to not seeing both sides of the conflict and that would make it seem she was favoring the Queen instead of finding the truth.

Will reluctantly agreed to pretend to have been kidnapped for real, and then she was to help the rebels to the best of her ability. This of course would mean Will and the other Guardians would need to be careful around the Queen's soldiers since the Queen could not tell her men what Will was doing. It would make Will seem like a spy, which would put her in danger if the rebels found out. In a way she was, but her mission as a Guardian pretty much demanded she been one to a certain extent.

---

Meanwhile, in the Pit where Caleb was being kept, he was trying to get a certain Passling to help him escape. He was trying to launch the green creature up high enough to get out of the pit so it could get some rope for Caleb to climb out with.

Of course he did not believe the greedy creature would really follow the plan but even if it did betray him at least it the air would become breathable again. It was a win/win situation if it worked, which to Caleb's great displeasure it did not. Blunk was unable to keep his grip and fell back down to the bottom of the cell. Just as Caleb tried to convince Blunk to try again they heard something from above.

"That right Guardian your going down there with the rebel leader." a deep voice that Caleb knew belonged to his friend Vathek, a spy for the rebellion who posed as the Warden of the dungeons.

Caleb's hopes began to rise, if a Guardian was here maybe he could escape with her help and if they could not then the other Guardians would come to rescue their missing member. His hopes fell at the same time as a red headed girl fell into his arms.

Will looked up to see who caught her. "You're the boy from yesterday!" Will exclaimed as she blushed at the sight of the boy. Fortunately the darkness of the pit hid it from the Caleb's sight.

"Your not one of the Guardians I saw. Where is your older sister?" Caleb asked in disbelief that this could be a Guardian of the Veil.

Will looked at the boy holding her feeling bit insulted until she realized something. "Wait, you're the rebel leader? What are you rebelling against - diaper rash!" Will said in an attempt to partially get even for the older sister comment.

Caleb, getting annoyed, shouted back with a comment of his own "Hey girly-girl, I'm fifteen!" Caleb then shook his head to get his mind back on track since they needed to escape fast. "Never mind. Activate the crystal and fly us out of here," Caleb ordered wanting out of this hole as soon as possible.

This was when Will knew she had to admit the most embarrassing mistake she had ever done to the surprisingly young rebel leader. "I didn't exactly…bring it."

This was when Caleb fell to his knees staring at her while saying, "You didn't exactly bring it!" This was when Blunk decided to introduce himself. While it did get them off the subject about Will not having the Heart, Will kind of wished the Passling was not there because it scared the heck out of her at first and the Passling's smell was certainly not a pleasant thing either.

After a long series of wise cracks and bickering between the two of them finally called it a night hoping the Guardians would come. Well that was Caleb's hopes but Will had her doubts. After all ,why would they want her if she could loose the Heart so easily? They would be better off without her. The only reason a part of her hoped they come was so she could help the Queen prove her innocence. Will knew was probably not being fair by assuming the Queen was innocent without proof but Will had learned to trust her instincts. Right now they were telling her to follow the Queen's suggestion and find the proof she needed to end this war.

'Maybe if I can do that maybe I'll feel like I am not a complete failure at every thing' Will thought to herself as she drifted off to sleep hoping that even if the Guardians don't come, her and the rebel leader could still get out of this hole somehow. Then she could do what she needed to do and maybe if she was lucky the girls would not be too mad at her for loosing the Heart.

---

Unknown to Will, her friends were on their way to save her in spite of her doubts that they cared for her. Taranee had found Will's bag on the way to school that morning with the Heart still inside. After some deliberation among themselves and the Heart giving them a few hints on were to go they found portal to Meridian.

They knew Will was here on this strange yet surprisingly beautiful world. This made Irma and Hay Lin believe even more that Queen Susan was innocent. This world was far too bright and cheerful to be ruled by an evil Queen who murdered her own sister. Both of them had a gut feeling that Phobos was the real villain.

As they kept walking through the wetlands they were in, Hay Lin heard something and said, "Someones' coming. Hide!" With that the girls hid in some reeds; they would be hidden until who ever was coming passed by.

Shortly after they had dove into the reeds two men who appeared to be guards on patrol came walking pass. "I heard a rumor that Lord Raythor and Sandpit have brought one of the Guardians to see her highness. You think she is trying to get them to help put her bring down the traitor Phobos?" One asked.

The second guard scoffed at his companion "Why would she need them! If Queen Susan wanted to she could snuff the rebels whenever she wanted to. Why she doesn't I'll never know."

The first just shook his head sadly as he spoke to the other guard again. "Phobos is the real threat; the rebels are just his pawns. I bet her highness is trying to wait until Phobos makes a mistake and end his web of lies and clear her name."

The second guard just grunted at this as he replied, "Ya and how long will it take to do that pray tell? This war is becoming an annoyance." The rest of the conversation was hard to make out as the two traveled further into the distance.

As the girls came out from their hiding place Cornelia said, "That woman really knows how to lie to her people, doesn't she? They actually think the Prince is the bad guy." This comment made Irma glare at the blond. "You got it backwards, Corny, the Prince is the one lying to the people," Irma stated firmly.

This was about to start another debate between the two stubborn girls when Hay Lin and Taranee stepped in. "Okay, you don't start this again. We all agreed that Irma and Hay Lin can follow their instincts and you and I can go with our theory until we find proof other wise, remember?" Taranee said trying to reason with Cornelia while Hay Lin tried to calm Irma down.

Eventually the group got moving again albeit with two very annoyed members making much less pleasantries the other two would have liked. They soon reached the castle and with the help of Cornelia's limited powers managed to get a vine to swing across the moat.

---

Susan was in the throne room with Raythor and Sandpit watching the Guardians in the Viewing Pool and smiled as they entered her home. "It is good to know at least two of the Guardians might help the Keeper find proof of Phobos' lies though I am concerned about the other two," Susan said with look of concern on her face. She knew the Guardians real strength came from harmony among each other and with the Veil in place Susan had a theory that the Guardians' powers were only at half strength to begin with. If that were true, then the girls would be in danger if this division caused too much friction between the five Guardians.

Raythor looked at his Queen and said, "Perhaps this will help provide balance, your Highness. If the Guardians that believe you are innocent can find the proof that could convince the other two to believe so as well then it will surley bring down your nephew."

Susan smiled sadly at her second in command. "That's true but they will need all the strength they can get to survive the challenges ahead. Anyway you two better get ready, its best we make the Keeper's escape convincing." With that, Raythor and Sandpit went to get into position.

The plan was simple: Raythor and Sandpit along with a few guards were to enter the dungeon as the Guardians made their 'escape'. This was so the girls had a sample of a real battle; Susan wanted to help the girls get their feet wet so to speak. After all, battles were frightening things and Susan would rather have Guardians first one be in a controlled situation.

"I hope they will be alright…perhaps I should make an appearance as well, maybe if they see their own powers being used against them maybe they'll pick up a few tricks they can use in future battles."

---

Meanwhile, the girls had found their way into the dungeons thanks to the Heart guiding them. Cornelia made a comment on that if Susan was the innocent one she had a funny way of showing it, which almost made Irma tackle the blond when they heard a voice calling out to them.

"Guys, is that you?" This made the girls run to where the voice came from realizing it was Will's. "Will, you down there?" Irma called down a hole in the dungeon floor thinking it was where they heard Will's voice coming from.

"Ya I'm down here. Do you guys see a rope or anything? We can't climb out!" Will called back up.

"We've got something better. Catch!" Hay Lin called down and let the Heart go and on its own down the hole towards its Keeper.

The second it reached her hands Will cried out, "Guardians Unite!" With those two single words, powerful flashes of light engulfed Will then the other four girls above. Once the light had receded, Will was in full Guardian form and turned to the rebel leader. "Wait here." she ordered and flew up the hole.

"Where exactly am I going to go?" Caleb grumbled as he watched the red head with an attitude fly upwards.

As Will was flying up to where the other girls were, Taranee accidentally dropped the fire ball she had been trying to use as a light and while no one got hurt they heard a person at the bottom of the hole yell out, "This is a rescue! I was safer as a prisoner!"

This was when Will exited the hole after flipping in the air due to still lacking control of her flying ability. She landed in front of the other Guardians. "You came for me! You really are my friends." The second part was said in a surprised tone of voice but the other Guardians still heard it clearly.

"Of course, silly!" Cornelia said shrugging. Hay Lin, being her usual bubbly self, also paid no mind to what Will said but that was just because she was happy they found Will safe and unharmed.

Irma and Taranee on the other hand were bit worried at Will's comment but they did not have much time to worry about because of what happened next. Guards started to burst through the door at the top of two sets of stairs followed by the Sandpit and Raythor.

Will knew this would happen because the Queen told her this would happen. Will knew the guards would have been ordered to only capture them with minimal force so Will was not worried for herself or the others. It was the guards Will was worried about.

Will did not want the guards to get hurt just so she and the others could escape but Will knew the Queen was right about them needing to face this battle. They had powers for a reason and now was the time to make use of them.

"Okay, Taranee and Cornelia, block the stairs! Hay Lin, find us an exit!" Will ordered shocking the other girls at hersudden take-charge attitude. Not that they could complain with the plan since it could defiantly help things right now.

While the three did their assigned tasks, Will turned to Irma. "Irma, the rebel leader is down there but he's too heavy to lift out, his mouth alone must be two hundred pounds," Will said to the water Guardian as she made a wisecrack at the rebel leader's expense.

'It does not matter how cute he is I am not…wait get that thought out of your head, Will. You can't have a boyfriend and he would not be interested in me anyway.' Will tried to banish those thoughts from her head with only minimal success. Fortunately for her, Irma did not notice Will blushing at those thoughts since she could only see the back of Will's head. If the water Guardian had noticed, Will would have never heard the end of it.

"We don't have to lift him." Irma said with a smirk and started to fill the hole with water much to Blunk's displeasure and to Caleb's as well.

While this was being finished, the others got back from what they were told to do. With the stairways blocked by vines or destroyed by fireballs the guards were trapped. But Hay Lin had not been as successful because there was a maze of tunnels and she could not find a way out.

Blunk on the other hand did know a way out which made the girls very thankful the smelly creature was around now. But before they could start heading for their new escape route Raythor, with Sandpit's help, had managed to get to the dungeon floor and were ready to give the Guardians their first taste of battle.

"Alright, Guardians of the Veil ,you have two choices. Surrender or be taken captive by force!" Raythor ordered with his sword drawn. Sandpit took on it's giant humanoid form which made the girls a little nervous to be heading to round two with the sand creature so soon.

Will had to think of another plan, one that could defeat Raythor and Sandpit with out hurting them too much. Then a thought struck Will that just might work. "Irma and Hay Lin, I need you to turn the walking sand storm into an ice cube. Cornelia use vines to tie up the one with the sword."

Caleb hearing all of the red headed girl's strategies so far had to admit the girl, despite having a rough start, was quite capable. 'Guess I was a little too quick to think she and the others were not able to do anything from watching them fight that first time. It looks like they are starting to get serious. Wonder if the red head is…No Caleb you need to focus on saving Meridian. Get those thoughts out of your head!' While Caleb was mentally lecturing himself, the Earth, Water and Air Guardians put Will's plan into action.

Irma used the massive collection of water she poured into the hole earlier to drench Sandpit while Hay Lin quickly blasted with cold air freezing the sand and make it unable to move.

Cornelia who everyone thought would have the easiest victory found that the Raythor was not so easily taken down. He was far to quick on his feet and his blade was just as fast as he dodged and slashed the vines that came after him.

"If you think having magic gives you the advantage, think again. Skill is what determines many battles not raw power or brute strength. But it was a fine plan, Keeper of the Heart, it would have probably worked against most opponents but not me." Raythor knew he should just let the vines get him, but he wanted to make sure the Guardians learned this lesson now while they were fighting him and not a more serious opponent.

Of course while he was doing his fake gloating, Hay Lin blasted with a gust of wind that knocked him at his back and left him vulnerable and making it possible for Cornelia to wrap him up.

'Her highness is never going to let me live this down' Raythor thought to himself as he now hung upside down with only his head and his feet visible.

"Nice work. By the way, I'm Caleb." Caleb said holding out his hand to shake with Will.

Will barely suppressing a blush as she said, "H-hi I'm Will." Just as their hands met to shake Susan appeared in a flash of green light. "And I'm Susan. Nice to met you." Susan had a grin on her face and was saying this in a teasing tone but her stunt scared the heck out of Will at the Queen's sudden appearance.

"Ah!" Will yelped as her face turned bright red while Caleb got into a fighting stance. Susan had an amused smile on her face as she watched Caleb preparing to fight and almost laughed when she saw Will's face turn as red as her hair.

"You must be kidding, young man. I would have thought you would have been raised to know you can't hit a woman." Susan said to Caleb with a smirk on her face. She thought about teasing Will a bit but thought the girl had been through enough for one day.

Caleb just glared at the Queen as he spat out, "Ya but what does that have to do with you!" That was when everyone from the Queen's guards to the Guardians themselves thought that the rebel leader sort of got what he deserved when the Queen blasted him with a lighting attack.

Will thought Caleb kind of looked like one of those anime characters when they got zapped as she went over to ask, "You okay?"

"Ya…I'm…just…. fine." Caleb managed to get out with sarcasm clearly in his tone.

Susan with a look of satisfaction on her face then spoke out, "Alright Guardians despite how your abilities amused me," Susan gestured to her two top warriors who had been taken down so quickly before she continued. "Does not mean I'll be letting you escape with the rebel prisoner. You have two choices surrender and swear an oath on the Heart of Candracar to not get involved in Meridian's affairs or fight me and be made to take the oath after being defeated."

Susan had explained the meaning of swearing an oath on the Heart to Will so she knew it was like signing the ultimate contract. Susan told Will to never make an oath carelessly because the laws of magic will take it as a serious one no matter how the person swearing it may feel.

Irma on the other hand did not know that as she started speaking, "Ya so we are supposed to keep our word on a pinky swear? What will happen when we break it; you won't be our friend anymore?" Irma was saying that so light heartily that the Queen practically radiated with anger and all of it was directed at the Water Guardian.

"Never take such a thing lightly! I don't know what punishment the mystic forces would do if you did break the vow but trust me it would not be a pleasant one!" Susan yelled so loudly that everyone in the room was scared of the Queen right now even her own men were scared of her.

Cornelia was the first one to recover from Susan's outburst of anger and got ready to mount an attack. "I guess that means we will just have to make sure we don't loose then!"

"Cornelia wait!" Will shouted but it was too late. Cornelia and already slammed her open hand into the ground and tried to wrapped vines around the Queen like she did to Raythor.

Vines irrupted from the ground and headed for Susan who just stood her ground calmly. Just as the vines were about reach Susan she raised her hand as if signaling them stop which they did in an instant.

Cornelia looked horrified that her vines were stopped with such ease and became even more so when Susan then pointed at her and the vines started heading in her direction. "No! Stop! Not me! Get her!" Cornelia screamed and begged as her own vines wrapped around her taking her out the fight.

Taranee quickly took action to try and free her friend by blasting the vines with fire but Susan stopped the flames just as she stopped the vines, but this time just sent them flying of into wall instead of sending them back at Taranee.

"Sorry but I have always had an affinity to the five elements and since I was very strong before becoming the Heart of Meridian I have a little more power than two Hearts combined. I can stop and redirect your attacks with no effort at all so please just stand down and take the oath." Susan explained to the Guardians who were getting confused and worried at what was happening.

Will was less worried than the others but she was not sure what to do. The Queen never said anything about joining the battle, but something was telling her that the Queen was here for a reason. Will could not figure out she knew that but was if something was telling her all this. She knew it was not instinct but she did know she should trust whatever it was and not worry about the Queen being here.

Right now Will needed to think of a way they could escape with out making it look like the Queen let them but how? That was when the Heart started getting warmer so Will pulled it out. As she pulled it out, Will heard Susan ask, "Does this mean you are finally going to take the oath?"

Will, after a few moments of looking at the Heart, just looked at the Queen and smiled. "Sorry but we are going to have to disappoint you because we are out of here." Susan looked confused at what Will was talking about until she saw the five Guardians, Caleb and the Passling vanish in the flash of green light that happened during a telatransporting.

"How did she? Well…Will it seems you're a natural with that crystal. I guess I don't need to worry about you girls after all." Susan said with a smile on her face. Susan then turned to her second in command and enforcer and grinned at their predicament.

"I know Earth children use terms like 'hanging out' or 'chilling' but I don't think it was supposed to be done literally." Susan said with a big grin on her face.

Sandpit could not give response in its current state but Raythor let out a groan, "Please, your highness, this is embarrassing enough, can you please give us a hand?" Much to Raythor's dismay that was exactly what Susan did as she started clapping so she could tease the two some more.

The guards started laughing as Raythor cried out in a begging tone. "Your highness!"

---

Meanwhile, the group had appeared at the halfway point between the portal the girls used earlier and the castle. The every looked at Will wanting know how she did that so Will quickly explained before a barrage of questions came. "I can't really explain how it happened but it was if something, maybe the Heart told me how to do that teleporting trick."

Since the Heart led the other girls to the portal they thought it was possible it helped Will in a similar way. Caleb did not really care how Will did it, he was just glad she did or they might have been in real trouble.

They then made their way for the portal thinking they were in the clear but that belief was proven wrong. As they got within sight of the portal a giant creature with a single red eye rose out of the ground: this creature was known as Gargoyle and it normally prowled around this area laying in wait for prey and it looked like it wanted them for dinner.

In an attempt to keep it from getting them, Cornelia covered it in mud and Taranee hardened the mud to fully imprison it. It did not hold it long so the group made a break for the portal hoping to outrun the giant creature.

As they jumped through portal, Gargoyle's giant hand reached through and grabbed Irma and was trying to drag her back to the other side. Will faintly remembered what happened to Caleb and she instantly got the Heart to make the portal close.

The hole in the Veil closed cutting Gargoyle's hand off at the wrist making it crumble into bits of stone freeing Irma. "That was so cool! Talk about team work!" Irma exclaimed after Will changed them back to their normal forms.

"We barely got out of their with our lives…but I got to admit it was intense." Taranee said with a grin.

After they had recovered from their little adventure and realizing school was over now they headed for the Silver Dragon to tell Yan Lin what happened. Yan Lin was pleased to hear the girls had done such a good job in their first battle but secretly wished it had not come so soon.

There had been more debate on whether or not Queen Susan was innocent or not between Irma and Cornelia. Irma said that if the Queen was able to able to kill someone like her own sister then the Queen would have destroyed them right away not try to make them swear some oath.

Cornelia on the other believed the Queen either thought that a few girls were not worth the time and energy to destroy or might have wanted them to watch helplessly as she conquered Meridian while all they could do was seal portals. Cornelia thought the only reason they managed to escape was because Will found out about the Telatransporting trick.

Yan Lin found it amusing when her granddaughter unknowingly broke up the argument when pointed what their initials spelt. Only her granddaughter could ignore such an intense argument while trying to figure out the first letter in each of their names spelt W.I.T.C.H.

After that, everyone lost the will to argue anymore and went home. The only ones who remained were Will, Irma, Hay Lin and Caleb. Caleb was in the basement resting on the cot that was down there while the three girls were having a meal in the kitchen.

Yan Lin wanted Will to stay behind to answer a few questions and Irma was going to be staying over anyway so she did not need to leave. Will was not in a rush to get back and make up an excuse why she was missing for almost two days so Will did not bother trying to bail on Yan Lin's request.

"Alright, Will, I think its time you told Irma, Hay Lin and I what you really believe and what the Queen said to you." the old woman said as she sat down at the table with the girls.

Will was shocked that Mrs. Lin seemed to know so much but a part of her did not want know how the old woman found out. "Well you see…I was not really kidnapped," Will started off and waited for the shocked yells to happen when Yan cleared her throat and gave the other two girls a look that said, 'Wait until she finishes.'

Will then continued and explained everything that happened from the accidental kidnapping to the Queen's suggestion. This made Irma practically jump for joy knowing that Queen was not as evil Cornelia believed but Yan Lin made the excited girl calm down so she could speak.

"While its not actual proof of the Queen's innocence you are making good progress, Will. The Queen's suggestion of finding evidence with the rebels alone implies she has nothing to hide by asking you to join forces with her enemy. By being with the rebels you can find out information about both sides of the story. For example, watching Prince Phobos you can find out if he is truly the is the one tried to overthrow his mother and the rebels will be trying to find evidence against the Queen allowing you to get a balanced view of both stories. You three will need to work together and be careful to not make it seem like you are spies or else there might be trouble." Yan Lin warned then allowed the girls to eat up before the food got cold.

---

After the meal, Will headed home to find her parents were still not around then noticed there was a message on the answering machine. "_Okay brat, we are going to be gone for five days because we need to sort out few things back in Fadden Hills. I better not find out you've been up to any kind of trouble while we are gone or your are going to regreat it!"_

It was a message dated to have been left at three p.m. yesterday so that means they never knew she was missing since yesterday! Will thanked whoever liked her up there for the help. Unknown to her it was not quite God who helped her catch a break…more like an Oracle.

---

In Meridian, Gargoyle was still nursing its wound when Susan appeared before the giant creature. Normally it would have tried to smash the woman so it could turn her into a meal but in its current state it did not care.

"Well let that teach to you to not eat people again." The Queen of Meridian said in a matter of fact tone of voice only to get Gargoyle growling at her.

"Now be nice, I am here to make you an offer. If promise to help me and NOT to try and take revenge on those girls I'll make sure you get all the food you will ever need and give you something to act as a substitute for your missing arm. What do you say?"

After a minute of thinking it over Gargoyle gave the Queen a nod that it agreed to Susan's terms. With that, Susan used her power over earth to make a large chunk of metal to shoot up out of the ground. Then with the power of Quintessence turned it into some kind of liquid that Gargoyle dipped the stub of it's arm into.

The metal then shifted around and turned into a metal club giving the creature a powerful weapon. "Alright, let's go and see your new home." Susan said with a smile and telatransported the two of them back to the palace.

---

Okay my finger hurt now lol! Read and Review.


	4. Returning the Key and Meeting the Prince

AN: Well here is chapter 4. Once again we can thank Knight for take the time to help polish my writing up and also…I don't own W.I.T.C.H.!

Specail Note: You might notice Will's Guardian strength is higher then normal. This is for two things, one is for a bit of comedy and second is to give Will some fighting power until her real powers awakens. Once that happens her strength will go back down.

* * *

Chapter 4: Returning the Key and Meeting the Prince 

The next day in Meridian, Queen Susan was going over what happened yesterday after the battle or to be more precise, what did not happen, do to Will's sudden discovery of telatransporting.

"Well Vathek, this puts you in a difficult spot I would think" Susan said with a hint of annoyance at this turn of events. "Yes your highness." Vathek said knowing he had to agree. His position was now threatened do to the Guardians unexpected escape method but like the Queen he was still glad they found a way.

You see Vathek was more valuable to the Queen than most people realized. Though he may seem like a simple warden to most prisoners in the dungeon; or a spy for the rebels, he something much more important. He was actually a double agent who had helped achieve many small victories for his Queen.

Vathek fed enough information to the rebel forces to be able to hear about some of their plans thus aloud the Queen to minimize the damage of some of the rebels' raids and small scale attacks with out any one questioning Vathek's loyalty to the rebellion.

To insure this facade, Vathek gave the key to Caleb's manacles so the boy could at least try to escape. In the end it proved even more useful since later on Susan had put Will in the cell to help the girl with her investigation.

Susan knew that by joining forces with the rebels the girl had much better odds of finding the proof that would prove Phobos' was behind the uprising twelve years ago. But the young girl's sudden use of the advanced telatransport skill had made it impossible for the rebel leader to leave the key in the planned hiding spot.

That meant to maintain Vathek's cover, Susan needed to make it look like the big blue man was a suspect in the key's 'disappearance.' Or at least he will be until the rebels and possibly the Guardians can return the key fast enough to make it look like it was just misplaced. If the could do it fast enough that is.

"I guess that means I should ordere a castle-wide search for the key. The rebels know we don't ever look little facts like a restrained prisoner suddenly being free and the only key to their bonds is missing." Raythor said, getting nod from Susan to issue the order. They needed to maintain appearances after all.

---

Back in Heatherfield, at the Silver Dragon the newly dubbed W.I.T.C.H. and Caleb were facing the same problem. Of course before they could return the key then needed to get over one 'minor' obstacle. Since they clearly lacked the ability to open portals they needed to find one and even with magic map Yan Lin gave them it was proving difficult.

"Great! We got the 'Close says-a-me' trick but someone forgot to give the glowing rock the 'Open says me' trick while they were at it." Irma said sarcastically as Will held the Heart over the map.

"Stop kidding around, Irma! Right now we need to be serious because if we mess this up that witch queen could seriously hurt the rebellion!" Cornelia yelled at the comedian of the group.

"You got enough of that for the both of us, Corny, if I started acting serious the balance of the universe would be thrown out of whack." Irma shot back and that made it seem like another argument was about to start.

"Both of you, knock it off. We don't know when actual customers are going to come in here." Will said as she kept her eyes on the map.

Will did not want them having another argument about who the real up riser was. It did not help them in any way and since Will had the same opinion that Irma and Hay Lin had, she did not want to hear any bad mouthing of Queen Susan. Will of course kept her opinion secret from Taranee, Cornelia and Caleb. It would make it easier for her to keep a close eye on Phobos without someone suspecting her; unlike Irma and Hay Lin whose opinion was openly known.

Caleb, getting restless, grumbled as he faced Yan Lin. "Are you sure that this thing points out portals? I am all for not having to pay Blunk to sniff one out for us but we need one fast!"

Yan Lin just stood there calmly as she listened to the young man rant. Once he was done she pointed out, "The Veil may be weaker than it used to be but not so weak that portals are opening left and right. You would think the leader of the rebellion would have more patience than this. Were you just recently appointed by chance?"

The other girls, with the exception of Will, giggled at Yan Lin's last comment. Will on the other hand tried to stand up for him. "Mrs. Lin, I am sure Caleb's just worried about a friend and ally that s all."

This caught everyone's attention as Yan Lin let out a happy sigh. "Young love is such a wonderful thing." The old woman then headed to the kitchen leaving the poor red head to the vultures that were her friends.

"So Will, got your eye on a certain rebel, huh? You got good tastes but he's not my type personally." Irma said as she teased the Keeper of the Heart.

"It's not like that!" Will said frantically to Irma then turned to Hay Lin. "I'm so getting your grandmother for this." Will said with a glare as Hay Lin grinned at the red heads expense.

Just then the Heart started glowing and a red X appeared on the map. "Eye, me hearty! X marks the spot!" Irma said in pirate accent making everyone but Will and Caleb laugh. Caleb did not laugh because he did not get the joke. Will did not laugh because she was too busy being thankful that the portal opened up in time to save her from the torment...or it did until Irma spoke again.

"Don't worry, Will, you go have some alone time with your man. Meet up with us when you two are done." This made the two blush a deep red though it was hard to tell if it was from anger or embarrassment.

Will, finally finding her voice, again yelled out, "Watch it, Irma or I might mysteriously forget how to transform you, or accidentally leave you behind the next time we telatransport!"

"If you don't like him then whatare you getting so defensive about?" Hay Lin asked, joining the make fun of Will contest. This was also followed by grin fromTaranee who was enjoying the show while Cornelia just smirked.

This was when Will let out a growl and stated, "You guys are so lucky my powers are limited to transforming and transporting you guys, because if I had some attack power you would be so much trouble right now!"

While the girls left in a fit of laughter at Will's statement, Caleb watched on with a confused expression on his face. Did Will really like him or was she just defending him as a friend? Not that they had known each other long enough to call themselves friends or anything but connections can form rather quickly in war; or so he had been told.

Caleb put these thought aside for now so he could catch up with the girls since they knew where the portal was. Besides he was fighting a war, the last thing he needed to worry about durring a war was a girlfriend.

---

It did not take them long to find the portal since it was practically at the Silver Dragon's doorstep. Well more like under the doorstep since it was in the sewers but girls couldn't complain…much.

As they exited the portal, Taranee let a loud "Eeeewwww!" while Cornelia was saying, "Gross, gross, gross, gross!" in rapid succession.

Will, Irma and Hay Lin were equally disturbed by the event but were silent in their suffering while Caleb just rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Girls"

Caleb ignored the glares they sent him as he led the way to the city. They needed disguises, especially the girls. They stood out in their Guardian forms so they needed something to hide their obvious status as Guardians of the Veil when they tried to sneak into the castle.

They ran into Blunk who was trying to barter Earth items (while saying they did things that they were not meant for) for things at the stand. The owner did not want the obviously useless items. He already had soaked firewood taking up space and the last thing he needed was more useless stuff taking up space.

Will hearing this, asked that if they could dry out the wood for him, would he give them some cloaks. The owner of course agreed but did not see how they could do it until Taranee heated things up a bit.

The only thing they needed now was something for Caleb. Unless they could get him something that could help them sneak in to the castle they would never be able to return the key in time.

They debated about telatransporting in, but they were worried that Queen Susan would sense it. As they walked the city streets trying to find something that could help them a guard came around a corner and spotted Caleb.

"Rebel scum! I am taking you in!" The Guard yelled as he charged at Caleb.

"Wonder what his shoe size is?" Caleb said absent minded as he sidestepped the charging guard's attack. As the guard turned to face Caleb to attack, something tapped the guard on the shoulder.

"WHAT?" The guard demanded as he turned around only to have his face meet with Will's fist. The guard was sent flying way too far for Will to have had normal human strength in the blow to make the others stare in shock.

Will was stunned as well until she realized she had super strength in her Guardian form. This meant she did have a combat-based trick up her sleeve. It was only a close-range skill but it was a welcomed improvement from nothing at all.

Will turned to look at her friends with a sweet smile on her face that made the girls suddenly very nervous. "About those wise cracks earlier..." Will said as she started cracking her knuckles.

---

After Caleb got changed into the guard's uniform (and convinced Will to not hurt the girls with her newfound power) they found a hay wagon and used it to give them cover to use to enter the castle.

With the girls hidden among the hay, Caleb got them in by saying he was delivering hay for Queen Susan's horses. It worked like a charm and got them past the main gate and into the castle.

Once it was safe for the girls to come out, they entered the castle. They needed to find Vathek and ask him if there was a possible spot they could plant the key to make it look it had been misplaced.

Unfortunately it seems as they passed what seemed to be the mess hall for the castle guards, some of then noticed the bit of the Guardian uniforms sticking out from underneath the cloaks and yelled out, "Intruders!"

After a short battle that was quickly wrapped up with an Irma and Hay Lin combo, they froze the guards so they could move on. They needed to finish up fast so they could get out of the castle in case the Queen sensed their presence.

They eventually made their way to the dungeons thinking that's where they would find Vathek. In a situation like when a guard's loyalty is in question they placed the guard in a cell while the investigation to see if they were innocent or not was being done.

It did not take long to find him since he was being kept in atemporary holding cell, which was close to the entrance to the dungeon. Once they first saw Vathek, Hay Lin blurted out, "You don't look like a good guy."

Will tried to swat the Asian girl upside the head for the comment but Irma stopped her…by wrapping her whole body around the red head's arm like a small child would wrap around their mother or father's leg so they could 'ride' it.

For the three girls and Caleb who were watching this found it a bit amusing as well a bit frightening while Vathek found it amazing. Most would be since Irma's whole body was hanging on her limb while Will was just standing there holding the Water Guardian up with ease.

"Irma, what are you doing?" Will said as she stared at the girl hanging on her arm. Irma looked the Keeper in the eye and joked, "Will, I'm wrapped around your arm like I have it in a death lock and yet you're still standing there like I was about as heavy as a feather. What would happen if I let you smack Hay Lin in the back of the head? You really want to explain to Yan Lin why her granddaughter does not have a head anymore?"

Will blushed as she realized this as she said, "Um…oops?" This made the other girls giggle while Caleb got annoyed. "Can we focus for a moment on what we came here to do?" Caleb said gruffly.

Vathek just shook his knowing it was too late. Raythor came to tell him earlier it would take a real good and well-timed plan to make it look like the key had been misplaced now. "It is too late; they have searched the whole castle. It would be better is we just escaped before…" Vathek started to say until a guard came running up.

"What's going on…the Guardians?!" The guard exclaimed and was about to yell for help when Will threw herself (and Irma) at him. The Water Guardian barely let go in time as Will swung the arm Irma had been latched onto and KOed her second guard for the day.

'Okay, let this be lesson for me, never latch onto Will's arm or else I get used as a club.' Irma thought to herself as she watched Will drag the guard over to the front of Vathek's cell.

"Quick give me the key." Will ordered and Caleb handed it to her. Caleb was confused as he watched the red head plant the key on the guard's body then turned to Vathek. "Quick call out an alarm." Will said to the big blue spy.

"What?" Vathek asked getting confused for moment. Will not sure if they called it something, else explained further, "You know call out something like, 'Guardians in the castle!'"

Vathek and the others quickly caught onto Will's plan and thought it might just work. Vathek quickly did as Will said and the rest of them quickly telatransported out of the castle. In less then a minute, Raythor and Sandpit along with eight more guards came running up.

The guard that Will had knocked and planted the key was starting to get up and was nursing a black eye from Will's punch. "It was the Guardians, Sir. The must have come for this traitor." the guard said only to get picked up by the collar of his uniform by Raythor.

"Then why did they leave him behind and why was it him who called the alarm!" Raythor demanded. He secretly prayed that this was part of a bigger and more impressive plan but Raythor so far did not see how the Guardians expected this to help Vathek.

Raythor then saw a metal object drop from the guard's pocket and realized it was the key. 'A good plan. Pin the blame on someone else by planting the key on him thus making everyone think it was some guard's scheme to make Vathek look bad.' Raythor thought to himself as the guard started to claim his innocence.

"Sandpit, take him to her highness, she will wish to speak with this traitor herself." Raythor ordered as he threw the guard to his partner. Sandpit would have most likely clued in on the Guardians' plan as well so it would explain the situation to their Queen.

Susan would then most likely explain what was going on to the guard then put him under a fake sentence to act as cover then put him at new post somewhere for a while. Either that, or just have the innocent guard go into hiding for a while.

As Sandpit and the other guards left, Raythor opened the cell and asked Vathek, "Who came up with that plan?"

Vathek grinned as he responded, "The Keeper of the Heart. You might want to avoid fighting that girl Raythor, it seems she has a new power apparently." This perked Raythor's curiosity. "And what would that be?"

"Lets just say don't let her punch or kick you, if she does and you live then your lucky. She was probably holding back when she gave that guard his black eye," Vathek said with a grin.

Raythor realized what Vathek was implying and said gravely, "Clever and strong, plus she has telatransporting…hope she does not get deceived by Phobos or we are in big trouble"

Vathek laughed at this as he responded, "I think she is a little too clever to be tricked so easily Raythor." This brought a grin to the other man's face as he nodded his head. "You're right, Vathek. Now we better report back to her highness. She will most likely wish to hear a report from you about what happened."

---

Meanwhile, the girls appeared near the portal that brought them to Meridian. Before anyone could go through, Caleb asked them to wait. The girls were confused at his request and especially when he signaled them to follow him.

After a short trip they came to a rock face were Caleb pressed a hidden switch to reveal a secret passage. The W.I.T.C.H. were surprised to say the least, even more so when Caleb said, "Get ready to meet the rest of the rebellion."

Caleb then led the girls down a long flight of stone stairs until they reached some kind of underground city. "Welcome to the Infinite City and were we hide the bulk of the rebel forces," Caleb said with hint of pride in his voice.

Since the Infinite City was only a myth to most people it made an ideal place to hide the majority of the rebels' forces, supplies and equipment. It also allowed the five most powerful members of the rebellion a safe haven between battles.

Caleb led W.I.T.C.H. through the underground city to a place that looked like large camp. Three guards on watch stood up ready to use their spears until they recognized Caleb. "Sir, your back! When we heard you were…wait are those the…" One guard started asking until Caleb nodded his to answer the question.

The youngest of the guards, who was no older then the girls were in their human forms which was about thirteen, ran into the camp yelling, "Caleb is back and he's brought the Guardians!"

This had the whole rebel base riled up. Many were flocking to see their leader and the Guardians of the Veil. Many hoped that this would mean the Council of Candracar would finally send its Guardians to put down the false Queen.

As the rebels welcomed back their leader and the families of rebels celebrated the arrival of the of the five Guardians, a young girl about five years old come up to them and asked, "Are you hear to make sure my daddy does not need to fight no more?"

Cornelia, much to Will, Irma and Hay Lin's dismay was the one to answer the question. "Of course, sweety. We are here to take down that woman who calls herself the Queen and put the rightful heir on the throne."

This had the whole rebel camp in an excited uproar as they celebrated the Earth Guardian's words while Irma grumbled under her breath, "Leave it to Cornelia to make promises we can't keep." This was said just loud enough for Will and Hay Lin to make out and both silently agreed.

But they kept a friendly smile on their faces knowing for the sake of the mission, they needed to keep their opinions to themselves for now. This was when regal voice spoke out. "What is all this commotion about?"

Like the red sea parted for Mosses so did the crowd of people part for a young man with long blonde hair and cold blue eyes, he was dressed in long black robes and easily recognized as the one called Prince Phobos.

Flanking the prince was a man with short blonde hair, blue eyes and wearing a green robe. Next to him was a young girl with shoulder length black hair and blue eyes wearing a white skirt and green shirt.

As the trio walked towards the girls, Caleb and the other rebels along with their families kneeled in the prince's presence. "Your highness, I have returned and as you can see I brought the Guardians of the Veil as well." Caleb said to Phobos, as the prince got close.

"So it seems, now stand my friend remember and you're the leader of the rebellion. I'm the second in command at best." Phobos did not really mean any of what he was saying but he lied so easily and convincingly that it was impossible to tell he was doing so.

To Phobos, he second to no one. Not this boy he pretended to call friend or any of these other pathetic fools. To him they were mere tools to help him gain control over Meridian and nothing more. Once he took over Meridian he would wipe out what was left of the rebellion and since he knew all their secret hiding places it would be a simple task.

These Guardians concerned him though. They seemed to be unaware of his true intention, if that was true then they would be most useful pawns indeed. Of course they could be working secretly for his aunt so he would have just keep a close eye on them for until he was sure.

Caleb then stood up as he was requested to do. "I believe introductions are in order. Girls, this is His Highness, Prince Phobos; the ones behind him are Lord Cedric and Lady Miranda. They are two of our most powerful allies." Caleb explained as he gestured to the three in front of them.

After that, Caleb introduced the girls to Phobos and his two warriors. Once all the introductions were out of way Phobos led the group into the camp saying he wished to discuss something with them.

Once they reached a large wooden shelter that looked like it was meant be taken apart quickly in case it needed to be moved, Phobos gestured for them to enter. Inside the structure there was a large wooden table with map of Meridian on it and several chairs surrounding it.

As they all sat down, Phobos asked, "If don't mind me asking, why are you here in Meridian?"

Will was the one to answer for the group. "We are here to help with the war, but since the Queen is on the watch for us we need to be discrete. So we can't help you much when it comes to large battles but we can help gather the proof needed to prove who really started this war."

Phobos did not show it but he was not happy with this bit of information. Not once did the Keeper of the Heart say who she believed was the culprit. That ether meant she was neutral in her opinion or she did not want to reveal whom she believed yet.

'From what I can tell, the Earth and Fire Guardians might be on my side. The Water and Air Guardians don't seem to like me but they hide it well, not that they have the skill to deceive me. The Keeper is the most worrisome since she is impossible to read. How can someone this young be so skilled at hiding her intentions?' Phobos thought to himself as he tried figure out where he stood with the Guardians.

Knowing he needed to keep with his act, Phobos just smiled and said, "Of course, after all my aunt would want to deal with her more powerful enemies herself. That is why I am unable to help much despite having magic myself."

This caught the Guardians' interest; Taranee and Cornelia thought it meant they had help against Queen Susan. Will, Irma and Hay Lin on the other hand know so far that it supports Susan's story since she told Will about Phobos 'magic'.

"How powerful are you, your highness? Compared to your aunt, I mean?" Cornelia asked hoping he was close to the Queen's power. Phobos gave the blonde Guardian a fake sad smile as he answered, "Alas, I'm at half your combined strength and for me to defeat an opponent with magic I need at least twice their power to stand a chance."

The Guardians were confused at why someone would need to be far stronger than some to stand a chance. This was when Caleb cleared his throat to get every ones attention. "If I may, your highness, I'll explain."

With a nodded a confirmation from the prince, Caleb continued. "You see Prince Phobos can't use magic in the traditional sense. He needs to use life force as his source of energy, but since using his own life force as energy would ether shorten or end his highness' life, we gather power from other sources."

Each of the girls took this differently depending on what they believed. Cornelia and Taranee looked worried since they did not like the sound of this life force stuff. Irma and Hay Lin were starting to distrust the prince even more, if that was possible. Will on the other hand was filing this information under possible sign of the Prince being guilty. Will was going to honor Susan's request to be as objective as possible even is she was leaning towards believing the Queen at this point.

Seeing the look on the Guardians' faces, Caleb started to explain further when Phobos raised his hand to silence the rebel leader so he could speak. "I assure you the only life force I gather is from things such as livestock. In rare a case I do use spies and war prisoners but that is so they will tell us information quickly so to spare themselves from being drained too much. It is not something I use often which is why I am not that powerful."

This was a complete lie of course. If the prince had the option he would be gathering the life force from every last person on the planet, but he needed to play the part of the noble prince trying to save his kingdom so he could not do such things.

Taranee then asked the question that was nagging at her since this discussion began. "Why is that you need double your opponent's power to stand a chance? With that much power you would beat some one with ease."

Phobos had to admit that was a good question but he always had a good explanation to avoid making any one ask too much into the matter. "It's very simple actually, since I'm using life force as my source of power it burns up at a very fast rate when used. If I fought my aunt with any thing less then twice her power I would not have the 'stamina' to win" Phobos explained.

Phobos could actually win at equal power but it would take every last bit to win. Since he would be exhausted after the battle in such a situation, Phobos knew he would loose his chance to steal the power of Meridian even if he won. So he needed a quick and easy victory to successfully steal his aunt's powers. So he played on the rebels' ignorance of magic to convince them this was the only way he could 'save' them.

W.I.T.C.H. still being new to magic, were also fooled by the prince's lie. This did not mean the trio who did not trust the prince believed him by any means. But he did manage to make them think that there was still the possibility that he was innocent. But with the three knowing Susan's side of the story it seemed a little too convenient that Phobos knew how to gather energy from other sources to fuel his power.

Will, knowing they had been in Meridian too long, decided it was thought it time they should head home. She wanted to speak with the prince more to see if she could find if he was lying or not but if they did not leave soon the other girls' families might wonder where they were.

Will still had a few days before her parents got back but she knew it was best to head back and do her homework while she had the time. This Guardian stuff gave her a gut feeling her already poor grades were going to suffer and then she would suffer.

Will suppressed the urge to shudder at that thought as she said, "Well we need to get going or else our families are going to wonder where we are. Should come back tomorrow and figure out how we can best help you guys without having Queen Susan coming after us?"

Phobos put on a fake sympathetic smile as he answered, "Yes that would be best. I am fully aware that every generation of Guardians tend to keep their duties a secret due to the danger involved. I will meet with the other leaders of the rebellion and see what ideas we can come up with then we can discuss them tomorrow."

With a nod of her head, Will got up and looked at Caleb. "Guess that means your staying here, Caleb?" This got her a nod from the rebel leader as he answered, "Ya, but if you can, leave the portal open. You will need a guide to get back here and since you're more used to me than any other rebel that means it's my job to do that for at least a little while."

After moments of thinking Cedric, speaks up. "That might not be necessary…if I may, your highness." Everyone but Phobos and Miranda was confused to what Cedric was asking his lord. Phobos gave a nod to allow Cedric to continue. "You see I have been given the task of locating the missing princesses. To make it easy to get back and fourth, his highness created a rift, an artificial portal in a sense, to act as my transportation. With this you can close the actual portals and you use my rift to come and go as you please."

This made Will, Irma and Hay Lin nervous to hear but made Caleb, Cornelia and Taranee happy. "That means it will make our job easier. No need to risk leaving stray portals open now, but why have I not heard of this?" Caleb asked.

Phobos was the one answer Caleb's question. "I thought it best that Cedric's mission remain a secret, if word got to my aunt that we are looking for my sister and cousin she would start searching as well. The last thing we need is my aunt finding them first and using them to gather more support. Plus if she knew I could make these rifts she might try alter the Veil to block them since that would most likely be with in her power to do so. I would rather not have that happen, they are rather difficult to make and maintain."

Will was glad to hear that Phobos could not make regular use of these rifts of his, but the mission he had his lackey doing concerned her. "Don't you think it would be best to wait until the war is over before finding them?" Will asked as she added another reason to not trust this guy. Susan wanted to wait until peace was restored before finding her missing relatives while Phobos seemed to be trying to do what Yan Lin feared, use them to strengthen his support.

Phobos eyed the read head carefully before answering. "Ideally that would be the best course of action, but in reality when it comes to war we must do what we can to succeed. With my sister at my side we can lead the resistance to a final victory against my aunt."

Will noticed he only said his sister and not his cousin so Will asked, "What about your cousin? You said Cedric's mission was to find both yet you just said you needed your sister at your side but have said nothing about your cousin, why?"

Phobos was starting to really dislike this particular Guardian. She seemed to be little curious for his liking. The only reason he even bothered to explain himself was so he could hopefully turn her way of thinking to something he would prefer. "I do wish to find my cousin, but she has blood ties with the greatest tyrant Meridian has ever known. I have no ill will towards her but the people of Meridian will not be so accepting. It would be best to just locate my cousin and then once the people have a chance to recover from the pain this war has caused, we will bring my cousin home."

This made the trio who did not trust Phobos really have serious doubts about him now. He was trying to usehis sister as a tool and seemed to be trying to keep his cousin out of the way. Though his tone and face kept saying, 'I'm only trying to do what best for everyone', there was something in their guts were telling them to stay on guard around this guy.

Cornelia and Taranee on the other were not getting such a warning from their instincts, either that or they were just ignoring it. "Will, perhaps we should wait until tomorrow have this discussion? Like you said we need to get home before our parents start to worry." Taranee suggested.

As Will nodded her head reluctantly that she knew her friend was right, Cedric came up and handed them a business card. "That is the location of the book shop I'm using as my cover. Please come there tomorrow and I'll show where we hide the rift." Cedric explained.

With that, Will took out the Heart and telatransported them back to the portal they used earlier so they could go home. Caleb then left saying he would go gather the other rebel leaders so they could make plans for the next day.

Once Phobos was alone with his two servants he said, "Cedric, Miranda, make sure to keep an eye on the Keeper of the Heart, tell Frost and Tracker as well. She is far to curious for her own good. If she speaks her mind like that all the time then she might start making the rebels question my orders and I will not have the brat getting in the way of my plans!"

With nods of confirmation, the two shape shifters left to tell the others about Phobos' command. Unknown to anyone something overheard the whole conversation and with great speed a Passling started running out of the camp.

"Jeek make big profit from Queen with this trade." the Passling said to itself as it snuck out of the rebel camp completely unnoticed.

---

Meanwhile, Will was just closing up the portal behind them when Cornelia started yelling, "Will, how could you question the prince like that? He has a better understanding of how things are in Meridian than we do!"

Will was turning around to face the blonde but before she could speak Irma jumped in. "Back off Corny, Will was doing what she thought was best. That guy is trying to find his sister to use her to gather more support that will only make the war get worse. That was exactly what Yan Lin told us we should NOT do!"

Before the blonde could launch her counter argument, Hay Lin surprisingly added fuel to Irma's argument. "Besides Cornelia, what was with the, 'Of course, sweety. We are here to take down that woman who calls herself the Queen and put the rightful heir on the throne' bit? You know we are supposed to be neutral until we have solid proof of who started the war!"

Cornelia glared at the two as she growled her response back at them, "You are only saying that because you believe the queen is innocent and don't want to help the real victim!"

Taranee, though staying out the argument, had a look on her face the clearly said she was still backing Cornelia on this so Will once again played peacemaker. "Okay that's enough. How about we get out of the sewer and head home before we get in trouble?"

Will had intently mentioned they were in a sewer knowing it would make the girls move it as they frantically flew out to get away from…what ever it was they were standing in.

Once topside, Will changed them back to the human forms and they all headed their separate ways. Will was worried about this division that was growing between everyone because they all believed something different about this war.

Will felt powerless to try and keep the peace among her friends. Add to the fact she needed to find proof about whether or not Phobos was the one who tried overthrow his mother twelve years ago, while looking like she was the only neutral member in the group, things were looking bad for W.I.T.C.H.

'For everyone's sake, I hope we find out soon or else W.I.T.C.H. might loose a letter or two because of this divide.' Will thought to herself as she walked home.

---

AN: Okay there you have it. Read and Review and let me know what you think.


	5. Mission Change: Find the Princesses

AN: Well here is chapter 5, hope you like it.

Once again I would like to thank Knight for his help and I would like to state again I don't own W.I.T.C.H..

---

Chapter 5: Mission Change: Find the Princesses

The next morning everybody met up at the 'Ye Old Bookshop' that Cedric owned and used as his cover here on Earth. The girls were in a better mood than yesterday, now that they had the chance to cool off after the argument, but there was still tension among the group.

Cedric paid no mind to it though, as he showed them where the rift was. "All you have to do is pull the book loose from the shelf and the spell activates. After that, you appear in the Infinite City, since I'll most likely be with you I can guide you to where ever the rebel base camp is. We move it every so often as a safety precaution even if Queen Susan does not know the Infinite City exists. Never hurts to be careful after all." Cedric explained.

Once everyone showed they understood and had transformed into their Guardian forms, Cedric pulled the book slightly, then in a flash of light they disappeared.

---

They then appeared where Cedric said they would but something unexpected had happened. They appeared right in the same shelter they were in yesterday, with Caleb, Phobos and Miranda along with four new faces.

"Ah, right on time, Cedric. I thought it best that since the leaders now know of the rift I should move to appear in the camp from now on. Please, every one sit down so we can begin." Phobos explained then gestured to the seats still available.

Once every one was sitting down, Phobos gestured to the other people at the table. "Allow me to introduce you to our other key members of the rebellion. First Aldarn." Phobos said and directed everyone to the pointed eared person with no hair and grayish skin.

After Aldarn acknowledged his name with a nod of his head, Phobos moved onto a blonde-haired man about the same age as Caleb. "This is Drake." Like Aldarn, Drake just nodded his head as his name was said.

The last two new faces at the table were a big contrast to the first two rebels that Phobos introduced. One had shoulder length blond hair, had dark gray skin, pointed ears and a large build. The second looked like he and his dog like companion were raised from the dead. Nether looked like the most pleasant person to talk to, seeing how the gray one looked like being here was a waste of time and the undead looking guy was just plain creepy.

"These two are Frost and Tracker, like Miranda and Cedric, are some of the rebellion's strongest warriors." Phobos explained as he gestured to the last two new faces in the makeshift room.

Irma looked at Miranda skeptically as she said, "Ya you keep saying that, but I don't see how shorty there can be in the same league as creepy, ugly and blondy when it comes to fighting."

All four of Phobos' true followers glared at the Water Guardian or at least until a certain bubbly Air Guardian added fuel to the fire. "Their C.U.B.S.!" Hay Lin exclaimed in an ignorant and happy tone.

While Cedric, Miranda, Track and Frost glared at Hay Lin, the others were trying to figure out what she was talking about. Then in a flash of insight Will figured it out. "Hay Lin's referring to the first letters in each of the 'nicknames' Irma gave you. Take the first letter of each and you C.U.B.S."

This explanation had Aldarn and Drake bursting out laughing, while Caleb was barely holding back his own laughter. Phobos found the acronym clever but did not find it amusing, his warriors on the other hand, despised it with a passion. Frost especially hated it and his temper was quickly taking control.

"That's it! I don't care if they are Guardians! I'm going to destroy them!" Frost roared and started advancing on the Water and Air Guardians. But before he could get with in striking distance, Will had telatransported in front of him and with one hand, grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him over her head.

"Somebody has a short fuse, better learn to control that temper or else…somebody might get hurt, got it?" Will said in a sweet tone voice which carried a clear warning in it. Frost nodded his head frantically that he understood so Will dropped him on his butt.

Everyone who had not known about Will's super strength was staring in shock at her. Phobos being first to recover, turned to Caleb and asked, "Why did you not mention this ability earlier?"

Caleb just smirked as he responded, "And miss the looks on all your faces?" Phobos gave the leader of his rebel forces an annoyed glare, then after he calmed himself, turned back to the Guardians. "Before we get down to business, I would like to point out that, though Miranda may appear harmless, appearances can be deceiving. You five are not the only ones who can transform after all." Phobos explained.

To prove her lord's point Miranda changed from her young girl form into her Spider like form then back again. This made Irma shudder at the sight. "Okay and I thought Tracker was creepy." Irma joked nervously.

Tracker, once again shot Irma an annoyed glare while Cedric smiled as he added a little fact about him self. "Wait until you see my snake like form, if it were not for Sandpit, me and Miranda would only have to fear Queen Susan herself when we are on the battlefield."

This had the Guardians turn to look at him while Irma yelled, "Sand creatures, one eyed monsters, giant snakes and spiders, what kind of world is this!"

After order had been restored from another fit of laughter, due to Irma's rant, the girls sat down and began the meeting. Phobos began by saying something that made Will worry a bit, "Now before we tell you how you can best help while doing your mission, I would like to ask you something. We use a voting system to determine if something happens or not, are you willing follow this system? If you agree that means you must abide by the decisions, so feel free to discuss among yourselves and think it over first."

Will, Irma and Hay Lin did not know what to do, they had a feeling that Phobos was trying to lure them into something but what? Cornelia and Taranee, being Phobos supporters, did agree of course, but the other three were unsure of what to do.

After few minutes of whispering among themselves they all agreed to go along with the system. This made Phobos smile that made a certain trio worry even more. "Well then, we are going to put to a vote on whether or not the Guardians will assist Cedric in his mission to find my sister and cousin."

Will could not believe she had let herself fall into such obvious trap! Will knew Phobos wanted to find his sister so he could use her. Will should have known that the prince would try to first convince her into accepting this voting system to force them to do what he wanted.

'The jerk knows he is going to win this vote. At best it will be our five votes to his eight!' Will thought to herself. Much to Will, Irma and Hay Lin's dismay it was ten votes to three because Cornelia and Taranee voted with Phobos and the rebels.

Irma wanted to jump up and protest but Will knew the Water Guardian too well, despite only being friends with her a short time. Will placed her hand on Irma's shoulder before the Water Guardian could even get up to say anything. "We agreed to along with the vote, Irma, so don't try to fight it." Will said which made the other girl calm down.

Phobos was pleased with the results of this little scheme of his. He now had the Guardians helping Cedric with his search. It was only a matter of time before Meridian was his.

Unfortunately for Phobos, Will was used to coming up with ideas on the fly and was about to throw a wrench into his works. "Alright we are going to help, but I would to suggest something." Will said, making the rebels look at her wondering what she wanted to say.

Will, taking a deep breath to calm herself, started speaking again, "If we find them, we don't hide the truth from either of them, none of this talk of bringing one into this war and leaving the other ignorant. Its either that or just locate them and leave them ignorant of their heritage until the war is over."

'This girl is quickly becoming a nuisance!' Phobos growled in his mind. He could tell Caleb, Drake and Aldarn seemed to like the idea, as did the only two Guardians that he had on his side.

Phobos knew that if he failed to take his aunt's power quickly enough when he won this war, then his cousin would be the vessel for all those powerful energies. If his cousin remained ignorant of her potential then she would be easy pickings. But if his cousin was brought to Meridian, she could possibly start learning to control her magic. That would make his cousin a serious threat, something Phobos did not need. The brat would be too much of a random factor, and for his plans to work, Phobos needed something that he could easily control and predict for them to succeed.

Phobos knew his sister on the other hand, made the perfect pawn. Every one of the rebels believed her to be the rightful heir to the throne and it was likely she would have little power in terms of magic. Meridian saw to that when it stripped his sister of most of her power twelve years ago. All of these things made his sister the perfect tool for political and moral purposes but could be easily disposed of after she outlived her usefulness.

Just as Phobos expected, it was the Keeper's eight votes for her idea, compared to his five against it. Phobos did manage to convince them putting off deciding on which option of Will's plan until they did find the princesses.

Caleb then started to explain how they planned to narrow the number of possible girls in the search for the princesses. "We have two places we can go to, to help us get the information we need to help us find our missing princesses. The first is your town's city hall; they would most likely have birth records. If we knew who were born in your town, we can focus our search to those who were not."

As the Guardians listen to the plan Will added, "Well you can remove me from the list of possible candidates. I may be new to Heatherfield, but what are the odds of me being one of them? A million to one or something like that?"

This made Phobos raise an eyebrow at this comment while Caleb, Aldarn, Drake and the other Guardians chuckled. 'More like put you at the top of the list, Keeper. You do bear a resemblance to my aunt and my uncle did have the same shade of red hair. Pity he had such a tragic 'accident' six months before my cousin's birth. Though I doubt the Oracle would choose a princess of Meridian to be one of his Guardians, it would be better to be safe then sorry.' Phobos thought to himself as Caleb continued.

"The second location we want to use to gather information from is your school's student records. From what Lord Cedric told us, your town is small enough that it needs only a few schools and yours has the most students for your age group. Since both princesses are between the ages of twelve and thirteen both could be one of your classmates. If one or both are there, then it will make first contact simple enough and if they are not, then we remove a large number of candidates from our search and focus on the smaller schools."

The members of W.I.T.C.H. had to admit the plan seemed like it could work. Then the thirteen members present decided who would be on what team for the operation. It was decided that Will, Caleb and Taranee would go to the school, while Cedric, Irma, Hay Lin and Cornelia would go to the city hall.

The first group was so small because for the most part, it was a hack the school computer job, which Taranee had covered. Will and Caleb were there to keep watch in case someone showed up while Taranee was doing her thing. If someone did show up then Will could just use the Heart to telatransport them out of there and no one would even know the group had been there.

The second group would need the greater numbers to get the mission over and done with fast, since they were dealing with paper records. They needed to find them fast and if possible make copies of them; if they did not have time then they could just grab the originals and get out of there.

The day of the plan was for tomorrow night, which Will had mixed feelings over. She was glad because her parents would still be gone for a few more days, so she had plenty of time to help with it without getting caught. The part she was not so happy about was because it was her birthday. With her parents gone she could have her first big celebration, even if she was still going to be by herself.

Will rarely got to do much besides secretly buy a chocolate muffin and if she was lucky, put few candles in it and blow them out before eating it, while her parents were asleep. But with them gone she could use all that money she had been so good at finding to maybe get a pizza and some movies, if she could find one in her parents' video rental cards.

Will could never explain it but she always had such good luck at finding lost five, ten and rare twenty dollar bills, not that she cared. It gave her money for food when her parents were mad at her and would punish her by not letting her much have food. The money let her buy food at school or at a corner store, just enough to hold her over until her punishment was over.

Of course, Will did not tell the others girls about any of this as they used the rift to get back and head home.

---

In the throne room, Queen Susan was having a meeting of her own; the Passling known as Jeek had told her of Phobos' plans and now she was making her own. "Raythor, with my nephew making plans to find my daughter and niece we have to do the same. I have been scrying Earth for possible places to gather information, so I have some knowledge of the town called Heatherfield. I'll be sending you and Sandpit to their city hall to gather birth records. With those we can limit our search down to girls not born there."

Raythor nodded his head before he asked, "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow night, make sure to take a few guards just make search quick. Be sure to get all the records from twelve to thirteen years ago. Since we don't know if Phobos will be trying the same thing, you better take every last piece of paper. It's best we don't leave anything for Phobos to use for his own search." Susan ordered.

---

Friday night, the two groups were heading for their assigned locations. Will had telatransported Caleb and Taranee into the school's office. Taranee sat down at a computer and was trying to get into the database while Caleb and Will kept a look out.

Caleb had a little trouble keeping watch though, since he was fascinated with Earth technology. Will just giggled as she watched Caleb stare at every piece of office equipment trying to figure out what they did.

"Some watch team." Taranee grumbled, as she tried to figure out the password to get into student records. Will, seeing her friend having trouble came over to see if she could help. But as Will touched the top of the screen her hand got a static electric shock. "Ow! I hate it when that happens!" Will yelped as she pulled her hand away.

Caleb, having no clue what had happened, stared at Will trying to figure out what she was talking about, while Taranee was too busy staring at the computer in shock. The second Will got her shock, the password screen disappeared and Taranee now had access to the school records.

'Did Will do that or was it just a coincidence?' Taranee thought to herself. It did not seem logical but when magic could be involved nothing was logical. The Fire Guardian put those thoughts aside for now and started copying the school's student records with some disks she had brought along.

Once they where done, Will telatransported them out of there so they could take the information back to Meridian and have Prince Phobos start looking over them.

---

While Will, Taranee and Caleb's mission went smoothly, the Cedric team was not going have such an easy time. Cedric had spent enough time preparing for this mission to get into the Town Hall simply and quietly enough, but they were not expecting company.

"What are you two doing here?!" Cedric roared as he transformed into his snake-like form. The sudden appearance of Queen Susan's second in command and enforcer were not part of the plan.

Raythor turned in the direction Cedric was yelling from and drew his sword and responded, "We are here for these records traitor. We found out about your mission to find the princesses, so we to had to begin our own search. Her Highness would have preferred to wait until after the war for this, but your mission posses too much of a threat to them."

This made Cedric let out another furious roar as he charge towards the group loyal to Susan. "I won't let you interferer with my Lord's plan!" Cedric yelled but as he was reaching Raythor, Sandpit threw itself at the snake and once again, like many times in the past, the two battled one another.

Raythor was not safe yet though, because there were still three Guardians to deal with. He knew he needed to keep them busy, while the troops he brought along could finish taking the gathered records through the nearby portal.

A task that would not be easy if the Earth Guardian had anything to say about it. "Let's see you dodge my attacks this time! Earth!" Cornelia said as she placed her palm on the floor and made the floor start breaking apart. She then sent the broken chunks of the floor flying at Raythor.

The chunks of floor were small but they were so widely spread out that it was impossible to avoid, so all Raythor could do was brace himself for impact. The chunks of the floor hit him; Raythor stumbled backwards, dropping his weapon in the process.

Since metal was a part of her element, Cornelia sent the fallen warrior's sword skidding across the floor, putting it far out of Raythor's reach. The Earth guardian smirked to herself in satisfaction. The pieces of floor probably did not do any serious damage but they would most likely leave some bruises. This repaired some of the damage to her pride since Raythor's dodging of vines with ease a few days ago had wounded it a bit.

As a final blow Cornelia had vines wrapped around Raythor's wrists and feet to keep him out of the battle. "That should hold you. I hope you don't mind paying Prince Phobos a little visit, because I'm sure he would love to ask you some questions." As Cornelia said this, Raythor glared at her as if saying, 'you'll learn nothing from me!'

Meanwhile, Irma and Hay Lin were unsure of what to do. The last of the guards had gotten through the portal to who knows where, and they could not help Cedric because Sandpit had so much of itself wrapped around the snake man that they would probably hurt Cedric as much as Sandpit.

"Some assistance would be most helpful, Guardians!" Cedric hissed, as he vainly tried to smash the sand creature off him.

"In case you did not notice, he is practically your second skin! We ice him now, you're becoming an ice cube along with him!" Irma exclaimed.

"How about blowing or washing him off then! How did such stupid girls ever get chosen…" Cedric started yelling at the pair, but then Irma blasted a large amount of water into the snake man's mouth making him choke on it.

"Oops! I missed, must because I'm just a stupid girl." Irma said in a sarcastic tone. Hay Lin, being the more forgiving of the pair was trying to blow Sandpit off like Cedric suggested, but Sandpit used one it's free 'arms' to grab Hay Lin and prevent her from interfering any further.

"Hey, hands of my best friend you over grown sandbox!" Irma said as she fired a blast of water to try and free Hay Lin. But to Irma's confusion, her blast twisted upwards just as it was about to hit its target and drenched her instead.

"What the?" The soaking wet Irma started to ask until a blast of freezing cold air hit her and froze every thing but her head. "Ah!" Irma started to scream as she fell towards the floor, but just as she was about to hit it, and invisible force stopped her fall and placed her down gently.

"That was for all those poor guards you froze a couple of days ago," a voice everyone recognized said and turned to look in the direction it came from. Right in front of the portal the guards from earlier had used to escape, was Queen Susan.

Cornelia started to shake in fear a bit at the sight of the Queen. After all, this woman had turned Cornelia's own powers against her. Cornelia knew that there was no way they could win or escape with Queen Susan now present. It was only because Will used the Heart to telatransport them out last time they escaped. But Will was not here and with Irma, Hay Lin and Cedric out of action Cornelia was on her own, against some one who had already proven she could not beat. But so far the Queen was not paying much attention to her, mainly because the Queen seemed to be looking around the room at the moment.

Susan for the most part was just taking note of her surroundings; she noted that the Earth Guardian had succeeded in beating Raythor this time, mainly due to more aggressive tactics, the condition of the floor was proof of that. 'Down side to the Earth power, it is far from being a discrete element. Bet the people who work here will wonder how that happened.' Susan thought to herself.

Susan then waved her hand in Raythor's direction and freed him from his bindings and summoned the warrior's sword back to his side. "Are you alright, Raythor?" Susan asked, concerned for her second in command. She was sure he would br all right but wanted Raythor to confirm it.

Raythor nodded his head as he spoke, "Yes your Highness, just a few minor bruises and scrapes that all." The made Susan let out a silent sigh of relief. She then moved over to where Irma was and asked, "Where are the other two Guardians?"

Irma knew she could not tell the Queen where the others were so she did the only thing she could, make wise cracks. "Not here obviously." This made Susan get an annoyed expression on her face.

"Thank you for telling me something I already know." Susan grumbled. This got a prompt, "Your welcome," from Irma.

Susan rolled her eyes and looked towards Hay Lin, who was still in Sandpit's firm grasp. "Is she ever serious?" The Queen asked the Air Guardian. Hay Lin hesitated for second before answering, "Um…depends on what your definition of being serious is."

"Great, that's just great." Susan grumbled, as she turned back to Irma. "Alright you have two choices, one: tell me where they are o,r two: I read your mind. Take your pick." The Queen said in a firm tone of voice that said, 'No wise cracks.' That was something not many could do to Irma and succeed. But to Hay Lin's surprise, Queen Susan appeared to be one of those few, because Irma had a nervous but serious expression on her face.

"If you could do that…then why give me the choice? Why not just read my mind and get the information in no time at all?" Irma asked, a bit nervous at the idea some one could probe her mind on a whim.

"It is a skill that should be used sparingly. True it makes things easier at times, such has communicating with Sandpit for example. But to invade the mind of another when there are other, more peaceful ways of gaining information is diffrent. Think of it as ethics of magic, things that you should and should not do. Just because you can achieve something through magic does not mean you should when you have other options." Susan explained to the young Water Guardian.

Before Irma could answer on the choice she was going to go with, Cedric growled out, "Say nothing, Guardian!" Cedric was still vainly trying to break free of Sandpit's grasp, but even the incredible strength of his snake form was not enough to brake Sandpit's hold.

"Oh hush up, you giant piece of luggage! She is perfectly capable of making choices for herself. So why don't you just be silent and…" Susan was interrupted by a certain blonde yelling out, "Earth!"

Cornelia, who finally managing to calm her fear, decided to launch a surprise attack while the Queen was focused on the others. She used the pieces of the floor from earlier and tried to hit Susan with barrage of rubble like she did to Raythor. But an invisible barrier blocked the attack much to Cornelia's surprise.

Susan turned to face the Earth Guardian with a smirk on her face as she said, "I was wondering when you would try something like that. It was a good try but I knew there could be a surprise attack at any time so I kept a barrier up, just in case."

"Good to know, Fire!" A new voice called at and a barrage of fireballs came flying at Susan. The Queen of Meridian countered with a simple blast of water, snuffing the fireballs out. Of course that created steam that temporally hindered Susan's vision, which Taranee took advantage of so she could defrost Irma.

Once free, Irma fired a blast of water at the arm of sand holding Hay Lin, making it break away from Sandpit's body. The sand still holding onto Hay Lin dispersed, allowing Hay Lin to try and free Cedric again.

Susan, finally able to see again, now that the steam cleared away, was about to try and counter the Guardians' magic, when Caleb joined the battle. "Lets see if that sword at your side is for more then show, murderer!" Caleb yelled as he charged at Susan, sword held ready to strike.

Susan once again angered at being accused of being her sister's killer, drew the weapon at her side and blocked Caleb's blow. "You wish to see my skill? So be it!" Susan growled out and push Caleb away, then tried to strike back at the rebel leader.

As Caleb and Susan fought, with the Queen having a slight advantage in skill due to having bit more experience, the Guardians tried to free Cedric from Sandpit. Raythor being torn between helping his comrade or his Queen was once again tied up with vines by Cornelia, making it possible for the four girls to free Cedric without Raythor trying to interfere.

Sandpit was forced to let go to escape Taranee's fire attacks. Like Susan, Taranee also knew that fire plus sand equaled glass, so the powerful sand creature was forced on the defensive. Cedric was about lunge back into battle when Will, Telatransported in front of him and signaled him to stop.

"We need to leave now. Caleb is only fighting the Queen so he could keep her from negating our powers while we freed you. Caleb, get over here so we can bail!" Will ordered. This made Caleb disengage from his battle with Susan and make a run for the group.

Susan was not sure if she should be annoyed or impressed with the plan. It was a pretty good one, creating a distraction to keep her out of the way, then free Cedric and the two Guardians, all the while the Keeper stayed out of the initial attack so to act as backup or if the plan went smoothly she could just focus on gathering the group together so they escape by telatransporting out of the building.

'Brilliant, unless I were to block the spell, but I got what I really need. I don't know why those two were here at the start of the battle, but I'll have to hope that whatever the reason is, it won't help Phobos too much." Susan thought to herself as the Guardians and Rebels disappeared in a flash of green light.

Susan then went about freeing Raythor and reversing the damage the fire did to Sandpit before the three headed back to Meridian.

---

"You came at a good time you guys. If you hadn't shown up when you did the Queen was going to try to read Irma's mind. Not that there is much to read…Ah! I was only kidding Irma!" Cornelia yelped as she ducked a blast of water shot at her.

Irma, who was looking very annoyed, was about attack again when Will pulled the plug on everyone's powers so to keep the peace. "Alright, that's enough you two. Anyway here are the disks, Cedric. Are you going need any help with them since it's Earth tech?" Will asked as she handed the disks over to Cedric who was back in his human form as well.

"No, I have managed to grasp the basics of computer use, a few months ago and a have simple laptop that should do the job. I should be able to handle the information gathering for now; you five should take advantage of this brief reprieve and rest up until I gain some leads. We should get back, Caleb, Prince Phobos is probably wondering where we are." Cedric said to the group before heading towards the bookshop.

Caleb knowing Cedric was right was about follow but he wanted to say his good byes first. "Well, guess I'll should be going, great work you five, especially you, Will, it was mostly luck that helped us escape back there, but without your plan it would have been worse." Caleb said to the red-headed Guardian who was now blushing slightly.

"T-Thanks Caleb" Will stuttered out makimg the girls giggle a bit at her actions. Will glared at them and pointed to the Heart; this was a silent warning that the girls knew to obey. After all, if Will only transformed herself then the four of them were toast with that super strength of hers.

Caleb, confused at what was going on, decided he should get going before Cedric came looking so he said his last good bye and headed into the bookshop. W.I.T.C.H. then went their separate ways and headed home.

Once Will got home, she noted she still had plenty of time to order a pizza and enjoy her birthday. She had picked up the movies that afternoon before they had gotten together so she had everything she needed.

After her pizza dinner and movies, Will blew out the candles on her birthday cupcake. The wish she made was very simple and to her a bit selfish (though only her parents would agree with that) 'Next time I wish I could celebrate with my friends with me here, instead of being alone' Will wished silently in her mind.

After that Will went to bed unknown to her someone else was celebrating this day as well.

---

In Meridian, Susan was in her room looking up at the night sky making a wish of her own. 'Next year let me and my daughter celebrate this day together.' The Queen thought to herself sadly. It was her hopes that with the birth records they now had, they could find Wilhelmina and Elyon and make that wish come true.

---

One more chapter down. Please read and review.


	6. The Two Halves of the Stone of Threbe

AN: Okay had to skip a lot of episodes for this chapter seeing how will has less freedom in this fic and Phobos can't pull half the stunts he used in the series.

Once again I would like to thank Knight for helping me edit my stories and would also like to say I don't own W.I.T.C.H. Now on with the story!

---

Chapter 6: The Two Halves of the Stone of Threbe

The last few days of Will being able to relax were over quickly. Her parents had finally gotten back from their old hometown and had set Will to work. Will's parents would hire Will out as cheap labor to clean people's apartments and baby-sit their kids.

Will was glad that the rebels were taking their time going over the files that were copied from the school database, because there was no way she would be able to do this and Guardian work for the moment.

It was a month later when Caleb came to meet with them again, which Will silently celebrated the return of the rebel leader. She would never admit it but she missed him, though she did not know why. She refused to think of it as love, if she was in love it would not last, her parents would see to that…assuming Caleb would even want a pathetic girl like her to begin with.

The other girls, of course, could tell Will was happy to see Caleb again. The only thing that stopped them from teasing Will was the constant fear of the red head's Guardian strength.

"Hi girls…Hi Will" Caleb greeted as he came walking up, the rebel leader making eye contact with the Keeper of the Heart. This had the girls giggle a bit at the sight, especially when Irma joked, "A personal greeting! Have you two been dating without telling us?"

This made the two blush a bit before Will growled out in a warning tone, "Irma!" This just made Irma smirk as she countered, "Can't kill me with your strength, you need both me and Hay Lin to ice people remember?"

"That just means I can only hurt you then." Will stated with a firm glare. Before the banter could continue, Caleb cleared his throat to get their attention. "We should get going - something happened that has both helped and hurt our mission."

This got the girls' attention, they wondered what could possibly do all that? This got the group heading towards Cedric's bookstore; knowing that this meant another meeting with the rebel leaders.

Will was a bit worried about going, since her parents were back in town. But Will had a few hours before she needed to be back at the apartment building for her next job, so as long as the meeting was short then she would be okay.

As they entered the shop, Cedric turned the sign of the shop over from Open to Closed. The girls then went further into the back of the shop so they could transform without being seen.

Once that was done, they went right and appeared in the meeting room. As the girls sat down, Phobos placed a green stone shaped like half a star on the table. Before any one could say anything, Phobos answered the soon to be asked question.

"This is the Stone of Threbe…or at least half of it any way. It was created long ago by a being called The Mage. It has the power to find a lost person and bring him or her home, as well as stop any one or any thing that would try to prevent that from happening." Phobos explained.

After taking a moment to absorb this information, Taranee asked, "So does that mean we need to find the other half so it will work?" Phobos shook his head as he responded, "It will work as it is. The problem is that my aunt has the other half."

"How did she get the other half?" Cornelia asked worried about what would happen if the Queen got to the two princesses first. Phobos looked to Caleb and said, "You better tell them since you were there."

Caleb nodded his head and told the girls what happened.

---

One Week Ago:

Caleb was leading a group of rebel warriors to mine near an inactive volcano. Normally the rebels would never use such a large force, but if the rumors were true then it would be needed. Along with thirty-five men he brought along there where also Aldarn, Drake, Frost, Tracker, Cedric and Miranda.

They were making their way to the dormant volcano where it was rumored that some miner found the Stone of Threbe. If that was true, then the Queen could very soon have the means to find both princesses with ease. If that happened then the rebellion would most likely fall and Caleb would not allow that to happen.

As they approached the edge of the forest that was near the mine, Caleb quickly analyzed the situation. As expected queen Susan had sent her best to retrieve the powerful object. Raythor, Sandpit, Gargoyle along with twenty solders were approaching the mine along the road that led to it.

"Okay we have numbers and surprise on our side, but they got more muscle than us so we need to hit them hard and fast." Caleb instructed his men. With a nod of their heads to show they understood, they then charged the mine hoping to claim the stone before Raythor could.

Raythor, seeing the rebels charging the mine instantly knew what they were after. "We must not let them claim the stone!" Raythor ordered, making every charge for the mine as well.

The miners saw the rebels coming and stood ready to protect the object they had found. The mine was full of those who supported the Queen and would not let the rebels claim the stone if the miners had anything to say about.

But the only things the miners had where shovels and picks, while the rebels had real weapons and training, so were quickly over powered by Caleb and his comrades. Caleb made his way for the head miner's tent, thinking that would be the place where they keep something as valuable as the Stone of Threbe.

As he entered the tent, Caleb saw a powerfully built miner with a large club in hand. Behind the miner was a table, which Caleb saw had the stone on it, but it looked like the miner was not going to give it without a fight.

"Only her Highness Queen Susan may have the stone, so stay away rebel scum!" The miner growled out as he guarded the precious object. The miner knew if he were to fail in protecting it then all would be lost, with the stone Phobos would use the princesses to over throw the Queen and darkness would consume Meridian.

"The Queen will not being the one using it, now stand aside or I'll have no choice but to use force!" Caleb declared, making the miner grow angry. The miner dove at Caleb, hoping to smash the rebel leader with the club he was holding. But Caleb sidestepped his clumsy charge and, using the flat side of his sword, knocked the miner out cold.

Caleb was about to go over and claim the stone when heard Raythor yell, "Stay away from the stone, rebel cur!" Caleb barely managed to turn in time to block the blow of Raythor's sword, the two now had their blades locked and were glaring at each other.

"You really think you could get away with taking what belongs to my Queen?" Raythor demanded as he tried to over power Caleb but the boy countered with equal force. "Did you really think we would let you use it to corrupt two innocent girls?" Caleb said, as a counter response.

Caleb then suddenly broke away from the battle of strength, making Raythor stumble past the rebel leader. Caleb then went to grab the stone and leave the tent, but Raythor had recovered and was in hot pursuit.

With the stone in one hand, Caleb was having a harder time fighting Raythor now, since the Queen's second in command was gripping his sword with both of his hands to deliver powerful blows, this made it hard to counter with only one hand to fend off such powerful attacks. Caleb knew no one could help him right now, because Sandpit and Gargoyle where dealing with Miranda and Cedric, while the miners along with the guards were keeping the other rebels at bay.

After a few minutes of the two skilled warriors combating each other, Raythor with a powerful swing, knocked Caleb's sword from his grasp. Caleb, hoping to get rid of his handicap, jumped into the air and sent a spin kick flying at Raythor's hand and knocked away his opponent's weapon as well. Raythor, in a desperate attempt to get the stone away from Caleb, lunged at the boy and tackled him to the ground.

As the two wrestled each other for the stone, Raythor tried to pull it from Caleb's grasp. But Caleb's grip held firm and it looked like neither were going to be able to claim the stone until a green line of light started to form along the middle of the stone.

Before the two could realize what was going on, a powerful blast of green light knocked the two away from each other. Every one stopped fighting and saw that each warrior was holding a piece of the Stone of Threbe. Cedric knowing things where looking bad for the rebels right now, knew a partial victory was better then none at all so he yelled to Caleb, "Caleb we need to fall back! Half a stone is better then nothing!"

Caleb knew this was probably the best course of action to take, despite wanting to claim the other half, it was better they cut their losses and make a run for it. "You heard Lord Cedric! Retreat!" Caleb ordered and he and the rebels made their way for the forest.

---

"After that, we barely managed to escape Raythor's pursuit but after a while we did manage to loose him. While I wish we had the time and strength to get the other half durring the battle, I'm glad we managed to get at least that piece." Caleb said as he wrapped up his explanation of what happened.

Phobos nodded his head gravely at this comment as he said, "Yes it is unfortunate we only got half, because now if we use our stone we can only locate one princess while my aunt uses her stone to locate the other." Phobos then turned to look at the members of W.I.T.C.H.

"So far we believe my aunt has not used her half of the stone yet so we need to perform one last desperate maneuver to make sure she does not use it. This is strictly a volunteer mission, but we need you to try to take it back." Phobos said, once again playing the role of kind and concerned prince. He was hopping to guilt them into taking the mission while he used his half of the Stone of Threbe to find his sister.

Will was getting worried now, she knew she needed to get back to do her jobs for the afternoon but if the girls wanted to go on the mission then Will would not be able to go. Acting quickly to try and find way to do both, Will said, "Do we need to leave right away or can the mission be put off for a few hours? Because my family has a rather…tight budget, I do a few small jobs to help earn a little extra money to help out and I need to do them very soon."

Every one was a bit surprised to hear Will working to earn mony for her family, since she never said they where having rough times before. Though some of the rebels where bit less sympathetic to Will's plight than the other girls were. "Yes of course you go do your work, I'm sure Queen Susan will wait until you have the time…" Aldarn started to rant until Caleb interrupted him.

"Aldarn, I think there is more to it than simply having an unhappy employer." Caleb said to his friend before turning to look at Will. "What is it you do Will and how long will it take you to finish?" Caleb asked, hoping to take some of the pressure off her.

To say Will was surprised and glad that Caleb was pretty much saving her at the moment would be a serious understatement. But she quickly responded so not to test the rebel members' patience. "I clean some of the apartments in the building where I live, some times I baby sit too. But luckily, I only have one apartment to do today so I should only need and hour; maybe two at most."

The girls had to admit that sounded like a lot of work for one person, but they did hear Will say she was trying help with her family's tight budget so they assumed Will hunted for as many apartments as possible to have clients.

Caleb nodded his head, satisfied with the response. "If that's the case, then you need to do it, not only so you fulfill your responsibilities but also protect your secret as well. While you're doing that, we will see if we can come up with a plan that will give us the best chance of success at getting the stone, so this might be for the best actually."

The rebels who seemed to dislike the idea of putting off the mission because of a simple cleaning job had to admit Caleb was right. If Will started shirking her responsibilities then people are going to start asking why. If that happened then lying and making excuses would only work for so long before some thing happened that would interfere with her Guardian duties.

Besides, a planned attack had better chances of getting the second half of the stone then a sudden attack by only five girls with no plan whatsoever. This meant Will was able to do her job much to the red head's relief.

---

While the rebels took time to plan their attack (and Will to do her cleaning job) Susan was preparing a ritual to make better use of her half of the stone of Threbe.

Susan knew that if she used the stone normally it might interfere with the Guardians' powers, so she opted for a safer approach to using the stone. By combining the stone's power with the viewing pool, Susan hopped to get an image of her daughters face, thus leaving only a simple scrying attempt to find her exact location.

Then if Phobos had not yet used his half of the stone, Susan could use the same method to locate her niece and then Susan could bring the two girls home and keep them safe from Phobos and his evil ambitions.

But the ritual to combine the two magic objects would take time and a great deal of magical energy. The later Susan had in abundance, the former she was not too sure of but she would risk leaving the Guardians vulnerable even if it was only for a short time.

"Your highness, are you sure this is a good idea? This could leave you drained for some time, much longer than the Guardians would be if the stone did negate their powers." Raythor pleaded to his Queen hoping she would reconsider her course of action.

Susan looked up from her work at the magic circle that would help combine the magical energy in the ritual and looked over at Raythor. "But I have you, Sandpit, Gargoyle and the palace guards to protect me from any threat, the Guardians only have the rebels who in case you have forgotten, are controlled by my nephew." The Queen stated firmly to her second in command.

"I understand that, but would Phobos risk exposing himself by going after them? Plus he and his minions would most likely be powerless as well, would they not?" Raythor asked in yet another attempt to talk Susan out of her plan.

Susan just let out a sigh as she tried calming the overly-worried Raythor. "Raythor, I have made up my mind. Besides, I won't be completely defenseless. I'll still have about roughly half my power left after I'm done and it will only take a week at most for my full strength to return."

Raythor once again protested Susan's decision as he spoke out again, "But it's not just your magical strength I am worried about. You may be at half power magic wise but physical strength will be greatly depleted. You won't be able to make full use of what magic you will have left!"

Susan just kept working on preparing the ritual circle ignoring Raythor's statement. This made the warrior finally give in to the will of his Queen and made a silent vow to keep a close watch over her during her time of weakness.

---

Roughly two hours later, a tired Will was back in the Infantine City listening to the plan to take back the other half of the Stone of Threbe. "We are going to launch an all out attack on the palace from four different directions. Drake, Aldarn, Frost and Tracker will each be in charge of one of these four groups." Caleb said as he started the meeting.

Everyone was paying close attention to the plan especially Will. She felt that if Caleb encouraged a planned attack so she had time to do her job, the least she could do to repay him was by paying close attention to every last detail to the plan he had come up with.

"Drake, you will attack from the south where the rear of the palace is, while Aldarn attacks from the north at the main gate. Tracker will come in from the east while Frost comes from the west that should distract most if not all the soldiers in the castle, leaving the Guardians and me to telatransport in and try and to take the stone." Caleb said, as he wrapped up the part of the plan.

Normally Cedric and Miranda would be part of the attack, but this time they would be needed elsewhere. Miranda would stay behind to protect Phobos since the bulk of the rebel forces where going to be in the attack, and Cedric was going to use the half of the stone they did have to locate the first of the princesses.

Will was not surprised that Phobos was trying to find his sister while the other rebels were busy so he could bring her into the rebellion. Will knew that whatever chances the Guardians had in completing their mission in the preferred way was now completely toast.

'For once I'm hopping Susan is the guilty one, because if she is innocent the Guardians may have brought about Meridian's end. Who ever chose me as the Keeper of the Heart Candracar made a big mistake, the real Keeper would have never failed' Will thought to herself.

Will shook those thoughts off as she and other Guardians headed out with the rebels to begin the attack.

---

In Candracar, in the chamber of Aurameres, both the Oracle and Luba where using the five powerful orbs to watch over the five Guardians. The Veil interfered with the traditional methods of watching over the Guardians, so Aurameres were the only way they could do so, since they where linked to the Councils' five champions.

Luba, like many times in the past let out a frustrated growl as she said, "Oracle, we should just let the girl know her heritage so we can find a more suitable Keeper! Her life of hardship has weakened her spirit and confidence so much that bearing the Heart is more of a burden than a blessing."

The Oracle smiled sadly at his friend as he responded, "It is true that her time as the Keeper is almost up, but not just yet though. For now we must for now to try to shield her presence from the stone of Threbe or her secret will be exposed at a time when it will put the princesses in great danger."

'Is such a thing possible?" Luba asked, not sure if it was possible for even the Oracle to over power the Stone of Threbe's magic. The Oracle looked at the Keeper of the Aurameres and said, "I hope so but the odds are greatly stacked against us, I hope with the combined power of the council we can strengthen the seal on the princess' powers and hope it can hide her from the stone."

---

In the throne room, Susan was slowly dragging herself up the set of stairs to her throne. She had finished her spell about a half hour ago and had finally regained enough strength to move her tired body again.

The stone was resisting the altering of its functions but Susan was expecting that. After all this was mixture of both interfering and helping the stone do its task of locating a person, so its defenses where to try to prevent the spell from working, yet at the same time it was trying to merge with the spell at the same time.

It was only a matter of time before Susan's spell managed to merge the locating power of the Stone of Threbe and the scrying powers of the Viewing Pool. But until then, Susan would have to wait and watch as the green stone sat in the middle of the swirling sands and hope the merger would be achieved soon.

---

Meanwhile, the rebel forces where getting into place to launch their attack. Caleb and the Guardians where already in position and waiting for the attack to start so they could telatransport into the palace.

As they waited for the attack to begin, Caleb made suggestions on where they should begin to look for the stone. "Unless she has used it already, I would assume it will be where ever the Queen is. So I say we should head for the throne room, it should be the most likely place." Caleb said to the girls, who all listened closely to the rebel leader's suggestion.

This made Will a bit nervous, it meant they would have to fight Susan directly. Will believed in Susan too much to fight her and even if she could bring herself to do knew the Queen was way too strong for them to defeat.

'Hopefully we can grab the stone and telatransport out of there, because if we don't, I don't want to know what the Queen will do. I know she won't hurt us, but what if she does make us swear an oath or worse…what if she takes the Heart from me?' Will thought to herself, gripping the Heart, fearing that thought.

Will had grown attached to the Heart being near her. It always felt so warm and comforting, it made her life seem easier some how even though nothing really changed, so the idea of losing it terrified her.

Will was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Caleb say, "It's starting, if you can Will, get us as close to the throne room as possible."

Will nodded her head nervously and started imagining the spot she wanted to bring the group to. Then in a flash of green light, they disappeared, not knowing what was going to soon happen.

---

Susan was still trying to recover her strength when she heard a great deal of noise coming from outside, quickly followed by Raythor bursting into the throne room. "Your highness, the rebels are attacking!" Raythor reported.

"What?!" Susan exclaimed, completely taken off guard at such a bold maneuver on the rebels' part. 'What is Phobos trying to gain? He could not possibly know that I would be weak right now. Then again he does know I have half of the stone, so perhaps the rebels pushed for an all out assault to keep me from using it.' Susan thought to herself, as she contemplated the rebels' reason for this out of character action.

Susan then quickly focused her thoughts on Meridian and called to it with her mind. 'Meridian can you please give me just a little energy to help my body recover a bit?' The Queen asked as she used her special connection her world to communicate with it.

It did not take long for Meridian to respond as it said, 'Of course, though I fear it will not be enough to help your people. You will need all your strength for the real attack.' With that a sudden rush of energy filled Susan, restoring her body's strength to minimal combat strength.

Susan knew her magic was still at half strength but at least she could move her body with much more easenow. She was worried about what Meridian meant by real attack, 'No point worrying about it. I'll worry about it if and when it happens.' Susan thought to herself as he focused her attention back on Raythor.

"Alright Raythor, lets get going. I have asked Meridian for a bit of a boost so I should be fine, so please don't worry about my 'condition'" Susan said to her second in command, reassuring him before he could protest her going anywhere near the battle.

Raythor knew better than to argue with his Queen, plus if Meridian restored even a portion of his Queen's strength then she would probably be just fine. "Alright from what I can tell, the rebel are hoping to overwhelm us by swarming us from all sides at once. If we can just…" Raythor started to explain when a flash of green light came and once it resided the Guardians and the rebel leader were there.

"Well I was hopping to get as close as possible, can't get much closer than this. Great work, Will." Caleb complemented the red head, making her blush a bit. "T-T-Thanks Caleb" Will managed to stutter out, which made Irma and Hay Lin grin. Will knew her two closest 'allies' where going to have fun with this later.

While this was happening, Raythor and Susan were staring at the scene, though Raythor was doing this out of shock at the sudden appearance while Susan had an entirely different reason. 'This is the real attack? Okay, I may be a bit on the weak side right now but I'm not that worn out' Susan thought to herself as she made her way down the steps and placed herself between the Viewing Pool and the Guardians.

"May I ask what is the pleasure of this visit or do I need to guess?" Susan asked but had a good idea of what the answerer was. They where after the second half of the stone, that was something Susan could not allow.

Caleb drew his sword and declared, "We are here for the stone - what else would we want?!" Caleb then charged towards Susan but Raythor was way ahead of the rebel leader and swung his blade making Caleb stop his charge to dodge Raythor's blade.

"Please allow me to deal with the whelp, your highness, me and the boy have unfinished business." Raythor asked his Queen but kept eye contacted with Caleb, just in case the rebel tried anything else.

Susan nodded her head, knowing it was a warrior's pride and a matter of honor that drove her second in command to want to fight the young rebel. "Just make sure not to hurt him too badly, the last thing I want is the Keeper of the Heart being thrown into a rage because you hurt her…what was the term Earth girls use? Boyfriend I believe, I'm not sure though." Susan said with a slight smirk on her face.

The other girls snickered (despite the circumstances) as Will's face turned a deep crimson. The embarrassment quickly turned to rage as Will screamed, "That's it! I have had enough of the teasing! Now someone's going to get it!"

With that, Will charged the Queen fist raised to strike the second she got within range. The Queen (or any one else for that matter) had not expected Will to have such a violent reaction to the teasing, so Susan just barely raised a barrier to block the attack which Will's blow promptly shattered.

The shockwave of the barrier being destroyed sent both the Queen and Will flying backwards, but while Will had Hay Lin's Air powers to stop her from colliding with the wall, Susan was not so lucky.

Susan flew over the viewing pool and right into the stairs that led up to the thrown. The edges of the stairs dug into Susan's back making her let out a short scream of pain. It had been a while since Susan had felt this level of pain since her powers made it hard for anyone to hurt her for quite some time, so the experience was probably even less pleasant for her than it would be for some else though not by much.

"She's down, hit her with everything you got!" Cornelia ordered Taranee, while Irma and Hay Lin went to check on Will. The red head got hit pretty hard by the shock wave and was so dazed by what happened that she could not remind the two Queen haters that the mission was to get the stone and not fight the Queen.

This meant there was nothing holding the two powerhouses of the group back, as fireballs and bricks from the floor came flying at the Queen. Susan managed raise another barrier. This one held up better than the first one, but it looked like the Queen was struggling to fend off the attacks, which if anyone was paying attention would have known was abnormal.

Will was only just now starting to see straight again and now realized what was going on. "What are…they doing? They should be getting the stone." Will said a bit weakly as she regained her senses.

"What else? They are so fixated on the Queen being evil they are throwing everything they got at her." Irma explained to Will. The Water Guardian wanted give her two friends a cold shower to cool off their hot heads, but did not think it would be good to do so while in the middle of a battle.

This was when Irma noticed something. "Is it just me or is Queeny have a lot of trouble today?" This made both Will and Hay Lin notice that Susan's barrier was weakening fast and that the Queen had been struggling for the whole battle.

'But her power is so much greater than ours, how can she be struggling? Is she unwell…or did I hurt her when I punched through her first barrier?' Will thought to herself, worried that she had been the reason why the Queen was at risk of getting seriously hurt or killed right now.

Will being ignorant of the real cause of the Queen's weakness started to run for the Viewing Pool. The adrenalin of her fear had helped drive away the rest of her dazed state away, and now hoping to grab the stone and having an excuse to make Cornelia and Taranee stop their attack.

Susan noticed Will heading for the stone and knew she had to stop the Keeper of the Heart quickly, or else loose her chance of finding her daughter before Phobos did. So using a desperate maneuver, Susan made a controlled version of the shockwave from earlier. This version was focused solely on hitting the Fire and Earth Guardians, which also managed to block the more dangerous attacks from hitting Susan, as well as send her two attackers flying back.

But few pieces of shattered rock and a few weakened fireballs managed to get through the shockwave and hit the Queen. The projectiles partially scorched and tore Susan's robe and flesh, but her determination was stronger than any pain. This allowed her to block Will's path, by telatransporting in front of the Viewing Pool before Will could reach it.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you take the stone." Susan said, as she panted heavily clearly showing signs of being very exhausted. Will thought she would never see the Queen so worn out and beat up, the woman always seemed too strong to ever get end up in such a way.

"You can't win in your shape so please just stand aside…please." Will said, the first part being a demand, but the last 'please' was said in a whisper, Will's eyes clearly begging the Queen to stand aside.

Susan could clearly tell Will did not want to fight her, a big contrast to the girl's earlier action but Susan chalked that up to someone being teased too much. Susan was tempted to give into the girl's plea, but the Queen's desire to protect her daughter helped strengthen the older woman's resolve.

"No, I'm afraid that will not be possible. Not when my daughter's safety is at risk with a mad man I call a nephew after her." Susan said in a tone that clearly said she would not allow anyone near the stone.

Everyone, even Raythor and Caleb, watched the showdown take place. It was a dead silence as everybody watched The Keeper of the Heart of Candracar and the Queen of Meridian try to stare each other down.

It was anyone's game now, Will's super strength could easily take the Queen down, but there was enough distance for the Queen to possibly fire a blast of who knows what element at Will before she got close enough to strike. It was like some kind of fantasy version of a western showdown and whoever made the wrong move was finished.

The suspense was so intense none of the other girls could even think about helping their friend. Even if they did try to help they feared what could happen if that was the wrong move and ended getting Will hurt instead of helping her.

Then all of a sudden, the Stone of Threbe starting acting strangely, small green bolts of electricity discharged from it in random directions though none came near any person in the room…yet.

Then it seemed to look like the stone was starting to gather energy for some reason, making Susan worry. 'Did I do something wrong durring the merging ritual? It was not supposed to act like this' Susan thought to herself just before a massive green bolt of energy was fired from the stone.

Everyone froze in shock or in Raythor, Irma, Hay Lin and Will's case fear, thinking the blast was going to hit the Queen but at the second, it curved around Susan and went flying at Will instead!

As the energy blast hit Will, the red head let out a scream of pain. It felt like something was being torn apart inside her but she could not figure out what.

---

In Candracar, those gathered to strengthen the seal on their Keeper's dormant powers knew they had failed. In their attempt to hide the girl from the Viewing Pool's sight allowed the stone to change its function to act like a compass instead. Now the stone was trying to destroy the seal, since it of course hindered the stone's mission to locate someone.

"The seal will not be completely destroyed right away, but it weakened quickly and will be gone within a month's time…let us hope Phobos does not figure out what has happened before Queen Susan can get to her." The Oracle said in a grave tone.

---

Back in the throne room, everyone watched in horror as Will was tortured by the blast of green energy. Will kept switching from her Guardian form to her human form like a light flickering on and off before it burns out.

Finally the stone stopped it's strange attack and a now a very human looking Will Vandom, dropped to the ground and was sobbing in pain. Susan looked on in both horror and confusion trying to figure what had happened.

'The stone…why did it do that? It's supposed to locate people not harm them so how did it…' Susan thought to herself until all of a sudden Susan sensed something. Susan sensed a second source of magical energy in Will, but it was not from the Heart of Candracar or Earth it was…Meridian magic?

'How could she have Meridian magic stored in her body?' Susan once again thought to herself until a sudden realization hit. 'Red hair, eyes much like my own, looks much like I did at her age…it couldn't be!' As those thoughts came to her mind, Susan's body on its own accord started heading towards Will.

Cornelia, seeing this thinking the Queen was going in to finish Will off, used her powers to rip two more bricks out of the floor and sent them flying at Susan. The first hit Susan in the stomach while the second hit her in the face knocking her to the ground and out cold.

"Your highness!" Raythor yelled and rushed over to his Queen's side. Caleb also rushed over to someone's side but his target was Will. 'I swear if Will is seriously hurt, the Queen will need all the magic in the universe to protect her from me!' Caleb thought to himself in a rage as he went over to Will's side.

He would never admit it, but when he saw Will go into a rage over being teased about them being a couple it hurt him for some reason he could not explain, but now he knew why. He cared for her, despite everything he tried to convince himself otherwise.

As Caleb scooped Will up in his arms, the other girls came running up as well, all were worried if Will was all right. "Please…n-no…m-more…please" Will begged in a weak voice as she let out more sobs of pain.

Caleb could not stand to see Will like this and wanted to get her out of here now, the mission meant nothing to him anymore. "Will, we need you to telatransport us out of her. Can you do that?" Caleb asked gently knowing it was the only way out of here, any other way was too dangerous with Will in this condition.

"Wait! Don't we need to get the…wait never mind looks like the stone took care of itself" Cornelia said making everyone look over to where the object they where it originally had been. In place was nothing more then a pile of green dust, somehow the stone had destroyed itself after…whatever it did.

The part of Caleb that was the rebel leader was glad the stone was destroyed, but the part him that was in control right now was the part of him that cared for Will so he did not pay much attention to anything else but her.

Caleb then noticed Will's hand was slowly reaching for the Heart around her neck, looking like she was trying to do as he had asked. Just as Will telatransported them out of the throne room a pair of soldiers came in.

"Your highness, the rebel army has been driven…" One was starting to say then he realized the Guardians were (for a few seconds) in the room, then saw his Queen laying on the ground with their commander trying to see if she was alright.

"What are two you doing standing there? Call for a healer!" Raythor barked. This made the two jump and rush off to do as their commander ordered. After they where gone, Raythor silently vowed to make the Earth Guardian (and possibly the Fire Guardian) pay for what had been done to his Queen.

---

In the Ye Old Book, Cedric was in the shadows watching a young girl with blonde hair reaching for the other half of the Stone of Threbe in a hypnotic state. 'It seems I have found my Lord's sister. With that stone this is too easy' Cedric thought to himself with and evil grin on his face.

Just as the girl took it down, she snapped out of her trance and was looking around trying to figure out how she got here and why she was holding this strange green stone. Cedric decided to make his presence known at this time.

"May I help you, my dear?" He asked the girl, making her jump a bit at Cedric's sudden and silent appearance. "Uh…I was just…browsing, that's all. Sorry about taking this down though I don't know why I did it." The girl said placing the stone in Cedric's hand.

Cedric gave the girl a smile as he took the stone back and put in his pocket. "Don't worry, it is just some old thing I found lying around, I only hung it in the widow on a whim. You seem like a nice girl so I doubt you would have taken it anyway." The shape shifter said, trying to gain some of the girl's trust and it seemed to be working so easily Cedric almost felt guilty…key word being _almost_.

The girl gave Cedric a friendly smile and seemed to blush ever so slightly at the comment, but then quickly looked at her watch and realized what time it was. "I'm sorry I have to get going or I'm going to be late getting home." The girl said as she turned to leave but not before Cedric said something.

"Before you go, could ask you a couple of things?" This made the girl turn around curious at what Cedric wanted to ask. "I'm looking for a part time employee and was wondering if you would be interested?"

To say the girl was shocked was an understatement but before she could say anything Cedric spoke again, "Don't worry, I'm not expecting a response right here and now, come back in a day or two and let me know."

With that Cedric started to walk away when heard the girl ask, "What was the second question?" This made Cedric turn around and with another smile on his face. "I'm sure your parents have warned you about giving your name to strangers."

The girl could easily could tell what the man was hinting at and nodded her head in understanding. "That's true but you're only a stranger as long as you don't introduce yourself, I'm Elyon Brown and you are?"

Cedric could not believe how naïve this girl was but all the simpler for his Lord's plan, the shape shifter supposed. "I'm Rick Sanders. Pleased to meet you." After the two finished introducing themselves, Elyon left so to get home in time, while Cedric closed the shop and headed back to Meridian to report the good news to Prince Phobos.

---

AN: There, finally got to some of the fun stuff, been waiting to start laying down the foundations for those two to get closer to finding out about their true heritage, especially Will. Please read and review I want to know what you people think so far.


	7. Recruiting Princess Elyon

Disclaimer: Don't Own W.I.T.C.H.

Well here chapter 7, took me longer the expected to write this one but I finally got it done. Once again I would like to thank Knight for his help beta reading thing fic.

Chapter 7: Recruiting Princess Elyon

The day after the mission to try and get the other half of stone of Threbe, Will still felt a bit weak. The mission was considered a success despite not actually getting the stone. Since the mission was meant to keep Susan from being able to use the stone and she most likely would not be able to make use of a pile of dust.

Will thought back to yesterday and blushed at the memory.

---

Yesterday after telatransporting out of the throne room:

Will had managed to telatransport the group back to the Infinite City as they had planned. The forces attacking the castle were supposed to remain for half an hour at most, then they were to retreat so the other rebels should be ending the attack soon, if they had not already.

"We need a healer!" Caleb yelled out, making the few people still left in the Infinite City look in their leader's direction. Most of those still left in the rebel base were healers.

The head healer, an old woman named Lucia, signaled the boy to bring the girl into one of the lager medical tents, much to Caleb's relief. Lucia was the best healer in the rebellion, so that meant the girl Caleb cared about was in the best hands possible.

"What happened?" Lucia asked as she started to check the red headed girl for injuries. Before any one could answer, another voice spoke out, "I would like to know that as well."

Caleb turned around to see Phobos and Miranda approaching their location fast. The rebel leader did not want to give a mission report right now, with Will injured and all, but knew the prince would want it. 'At least I can kill two birds with one stone, Lucia needed to know what happened so she can treat Will and I can satisfy the prince's curiosity' Caleb grumbled in his mind.

"Your highness, the mission was a partial success. The Queen seemed to by trying to alter her half of the stone of Threbe somehow and it ended up blasting Will with some kind of beam. After it stopped, nothing but a pile of green dust remained." Caleb reported. This seemed to make Phobos have mixed reaction to the news.

He was annoyed at the news of the stone's destruction, yet was pleased at the news of it no longer being of any use to his aunt. Of course, the news of his aunt modifying the stone still disturbed him, but if it failed and instead, temporally took the Keeper of the Heart out of action. The prince, despite Will's neutral opinion of who started this war, had found the Keeper tended be an annoyance at times.

"This is for the most part good news, I would have preferred to have retrieved the other half of the stone, but the main thing is that my aunt no longer has access to the stone while we still have our half. The part that worries me is what my aunt and originally intended to do and how did it caused her half to attack the Keeper of the Heart?" Phobos said, in a fake act of concern and worry.

Every one, once again bought the prince's act, but that was not surprising seeing as how the prince had twelve years of practice at it. After Caleb gave a full report to Phobos, he turned back to see Lucia finishing up her examination of Will.

The old woman looked at Caleb and gave him reassuring smile as she said, "She will be just fine. Looks like what ever it was, it did not do any physical harm despite making her go through the kind of pain you described."

This made Caleb and the rest of W.I.T.C.H. breathe a sigh of relief. Then suddenly, the Heart of Candracar started glowing and made the girls revert back to their human forms. "Okay, who ordered the unexpected costume change?" Irma joked, though she felt a bit vulnerable being in Meridian with out being in her Guardian form.

Every one rolled their eyes at the girl's joke but the noticed Will was still glowing. The light she was giving off was pink in color and she seemed calmer now. From what Phobos could tell, the Heart was probably trying to heal its Keeper or something like that.

What was actually happening was the Heart had reversed the other Guardians' transformations so it could divert more power to its Keeper so she could recover faster. The Heart knew the dangers of its owner being away from Earth too long so it needed to get Will back on her feet as soon as possible.

After about another five more minutes, the light faded away and Will opened her eyes. When she tried to sit up, Lucia pushed her back down. "Not yet my dear, I want you to rest for a few more minutes. You've been through a lot and your body has probably has had so much magic being pumped through it in the last half an hour, you need to give it at least ten minutes to adjust back to normal."

After that, Lucia shooed every one but Caleb away, saying Will only needed one visitor right now. She had chosen Caleb for two reasons: one, he (hopefully) would make sure Will stayed lying down for as long as Lucia had ordered; and two, she could tell the boy cared about the girl so she wanted to give the two a moment alone.

After every one had left, the girl being more reluctant than the Prince and Miranda, it was bit of a long silence before ether spoke a word. "You…gave all of us a bit of a scare, back in the throne room I mean," Caleb said finally ending the silence between the two.

Will just nodded her head and stayed silent, leaving Caleb to once again try and start up a conversation. "I did not know what I would have done if you had been seriously hurt, I almost went after the Queen because her stupid spell hurt you." Caleb said, then dumbly realized he had more or less, confessed his feelings for Will.

'Stupid Caleb! A girl probably wants a confession in a better location than in a medical tent when said girl is still recovering!' Caleb mentally berated him self. While he was doing that, Will was staring at him in shock.

'Did he just…confess he likes me?' As those thoughts passed through her mind, Will was also have an internal struggle. One part of her was hoping Caleb was confessing to her, but the other part was saying she was misinterpreting what Caleb was saying somehow. After all, why would Caleb be interested in her when there where a thousand other girls he could possibly choose from?

"Caleb…what a-are you s-s-saying?" Will asked, very nervous at what the response would be. Caleb knew he had to answer soon, Will deserved a straight answer, so he prepared himself to make his meaning clear.

"Will…when we first in the Queen's dungeon, I had a slight attraction to you. Overtime, that that feeling grew and well…like I said, I almost went after the Queen for what the stone did to you." Caleb explained but then saw tears well up in Will's eyes.

'Damn it, Caleb, now you made her cry! Guess she did only want us to be friends.' Caleb thought to himself bitterly. Caleb was about try and apologize, but Will spoke first. "You mean you…feel the same way?" Will managed to sniffle out, shocking Caleb.

All Caleb could do, was nod his head dumbly as he started to help Will sit up right. The two stared into each other's eyes and were slowly leaning into to kiss one another when they heard a voice squeal, "They're going to do it!"

This had them stopping the kiss instantly and were now looking over to the entrance of the medical tent to see the other girls spying on them. This made Irma smack her best friend on the back of the head and say, "Nice going, Hay Lin, you couldn't you stay quite a few more seconds!"

Hay Lin rubbed the back of her head and cringed under Irma, Taranee and Cornelia's glares. "Sorry, I just got so excited!" The Air guardian said in her defense, all the while Caleb and Will staring at the four girls, and were slowly becoming annoyed at their presence.

"What do you guys think you're doing?!" Will growled out, finally finding her voice again. Caleb did not saying anything, since Will took the words right out of his mouth, so he just glared at the four girls.

This made the rest W.I.T.C.H. look over to the new couple feeling slightly nervous. "Well…you see…" Irma started, but could not get the nerve to keep speaking.

"We knew you guys had feelings for each other but never expressed them…" Taranee added, but like Irma, lost the will to speak under Will and Caleb's gazes.

"So we decided to watch and make sure you guys hooked up, just in case Caleb chickened out again…" Cornelia said, who was under an even stronger glare than the first two girls, because of the 'chicken out' comment, said this.

"So go ahead and kiss already! Just pretend we are not even here." Hay Lin said, which got Irma, Taranee and Cornelia looking at the Air Guardian as if saying 'Are you trying to get us killed!'

This fear was especially strong when Will started reaching for the Heart, but to the four terrified girls' surprise, Caleb stopped Will and gently pushed her back down on to the cot she was laying in.

"Don't. You need to let your body recover for a few minutes, remember?" Caleb said gently, before turning to look back at the four spies with a steely gaze that once again filled the girls with fear. "Let me deal with them." Caleb said, as he drew his sword, which caused the four girls to run with Caleb in hot pursuit.

---

Will found it entertaining to watch Caleb chasing after her friends. Though she of course did not get to see most of it since she was in the medical tent, but from how Lucia described the chase and the fact that took about 15 rebels to hold and calm Caleb down, Will could not help laugh at the images her mind came up with.

What made yesterday even better was that her parents did not come home last night. That meant she still did not need to risk hiding both the fact she had friends and her Guardian duties.

There were times, she wondered what her parents' jobs were, since she never asked, out of fear of what they would do because she was not 'minding her own business'. That was what her parents said when Will asked questions, which where followed by…less then pleasant things.

Will put those thoughts aside, knowing she had a busy day ahead of her. She needed to meet up at Cedric's book shop for a special meeting with the rebel leaders, then she needed to get back by four o clock for a baby sitting job.

"Glad that's all I have to do today. If it were more cleaning jobs I would be trouble. Why doesn't this drained feeling go away? I hope this does not last long or it might slow me down on Monday." Will whispered to herself, as she headed out the door.

---

Back at the rebel base, Caleb was training so to get his mind off the jokes from yesterday. When he chased the other four members of the Guardians around the base, the rebels who where a part of the diversion attack on the palace were just getting back.

Once the rebels had realized it was the Guardians, Caleb was chasing after, they quickly came to the girls aid thinking Caleb lost his mind, seeing how he had his sword drawn and was yelling out several threats about teaching them not to spy on him ever again.

The number of wounded for the healers to tend to had increased to say the least, do to the fact that Caleb had knocked out a few of the less skilled rebels with relative ease. It was not until Drake, Aldarn, Tracker and Frost jumped in, did the rest of the rebels finally stand a chance against their very angry leader.

Tracker managed to use its green glowing ball and chain to pull Caleb's sword from his grasp, which allowed the muscle-bound Frost to try and tackle Caleb. But Caleb used Frost's own momentum against him and Caleb tossed him a good ten feet away, which would have impressed many martial arts experts on Earth, seeing as how Caleb had a lot of self-taught moves rather than formal training.

Of course, while Caleb had been tossing Frost, Aldarn and Drake came up from behind and tackled Caleb to the ground, which led to a massive dog pile on top of Caleb to keep him down.

After the rebels had managed to (more or less) restrain their leader, the girls explained what had happened much to Caleb's dismay. It was shortly after Lucia gave Will permission to leave, thus allowing the girls to get away from Caleb's wrath. Fortunately for him, it seemed Will was still angry with them as well, though probably not enough to actually do anything to her friends, but enough to put the other four on edge out of fear a Super Will beat down.

It was after the girls had left that his own men, started making wise cracks at their leader's expense and were driving him nuts. Though most of them learned their lesson fast, it was Aldarn, Drake and Frost that did most of the teasing, though Frost was a bit more aggressive with his jokes, but that was normal for the brute.

'Wonder when Will's going to arrive? She's probably not going to like the idea of being a part of the recruits for the first princess mission, but she and the other girls are the only ones who make the first contact as smooth as possible.' Caleb thought to himself, as he kept practicing his sword techniques.

After a few more minutes, Aldarn and Drake walked in, making Caleb stop his training to glare at them. "What? Here to make more wise cracks about me and Will?" Caleb said in a warning tone, but the two just grinned, shrugging off Caleb's hidden threat.

"Just here to tell you the meeting will start soon.' Aldarn said, while Drake had a hint mischief in his eyes as the blond added, "So you better get cleaned up, want to look your best for your future wife after all."

"You have five seconds." Caleb warned as he pointed to the weapon in his hand, make his threat very clear. His two friends just chuckled knowing that Caleb was just blowing steam and walked away leisurely, so to dare Caleb to go through with the threat.

Caleb just growled with annoyance and put his weapon away, knowing that just could scare his friends like he could the other rebels. He then went off in the same direction so he that was on time for the meeting and see Will.

"Hopefully Will's strength will do a better job of keeping the wise cracks in check than my fists seem to." Caleb grumbled to himself as he walked back towards the camp.

---

As Will arrived at the bookshop, she noticed the other girls were already there. So just to make sure there was no smart alick remarks about yesterday, she took out the Heart. This of course did not go unnoticed to the girls and were frantically waving their hands around, signaling they had no intention of causing trouble.

"Glad you see it my way." Will said, with a smirk on her face as Irma gave Will a mock scowl. "How about you give one of us the Heart and see how quickly you see things their way!" The Water Guardian joked, while the other nodded their head at this statement.

"Sorry, but I'm not giving this up, its just too much a good luck charm to me, as well as our source of power." Will said, in a joking manner. Deep down though, Will was actually quite serious about what she said. She was having an incredible lucky streak since she got the Heart, so Will assumed that it was the Heart that was source of all her good fortune lately.

'I have friends, my parents have not been around too much lately and I found out Caleb likes me. It has to be the Heart's doing some how. It just has to be.' Will thought happily but her thoughts where interrupted by Cedric as he approached the girls.

"Ah, you all here! You better get going; the meeting should be short but very important. I need to remain behind so to maintain the guise of this being a shop, so give Prince Phobos this note for me please." Cedric said, and handed a piece of paper to Will.

Will was tempted to read it but knew better, so she just nodded her head that she understood then held up the Heart and said, "Guardians Unite!"

After the five girls where in their older more powerful forms, they used the rift to head to the Infinite City, not knowing that Cedric was smirking evilly as they disappeared. "That's right ,little Guardians, go get your orders that will place my Lord on Meridian's Throne." Cedric said quietly as he waited for Elyon to show up.

She had called him just before he closed the shop up last night and said she was coming to discuss details about the job at the shop, saying her parents just wanted a few details before agreeing to allow her to take the position.

Cedric had arranged the 'interview' to coinside with the meeting so that the Guardians could help make the girl believe everything that he was going to tell her. After all, you can't argue that magic does not exist when you have five giant fairies in front of you, now can you?

---

After the girls appeared in the meeting room, Aldarn, who was sitting next to Caleb, stood up and offered his seat to Will. "I would assume the lady wishes to sit next to the man courting her?" he said, once again poking fun at Caleb and Will's relationship. Though everyone teased Caleb about his new relationship, they were all very happy for them actually.

Everyone knew Caleb needed someone to rely on, and hoped the Keeper could provide that. The only reason everyone teased Caleb was because it was just too good to pass up, they needed a good moral booster after that last big battle and teasing the two did the job nicely.

Caleb glared at Aldarn, getting ready to make his best friend stop mocking them, but he stopped when he watched Will calmly walk over and sit down next to Caleb. Ever one was surprised Will took Aldarn's teasing so lightly, or they did until Will gently slammed her elbow into Aldarn's stomach almost knocking the air out of him.

"Thank you for giving me your seat but please don't make fun of us." Will said sweetly, but like when she used the same tone on Frost, everyone knew it was clearing warning to not mess with her.

Phobos then cleared his throat, so as to get every ones attention. "As much I find this discussion entertaining, I think we should begin this meeting as soon as possible." Phobos requested, and so everybody started satdown, while Will held up the piece of paper Cedric gave her.

"Cedric told me to give this to you." Will, said as she handed the paper over to the prince. Phobos nodded his head in thanks and read the note. After a moment he looked up and said, "Merely a message to say if we need to vote, he says he trusts my judgment. Though I think you all know why we called this meeting and will probably need to do a vote in the end."

Everyone nodded knowing why this meeting had been called despite not being actually being told what it was about. They had used their half of the Stone of Threbe after all, so that means they found the first princess and needed to decide what do with that information.

"Before we can vote on that matter, there is something I need to inform you about." Phobos said, drawing the attention of all in the room. Then Phobos held up a pouch and poured its contents onto the table, which was a familiar green powder.

"It seems we no longer have a stone either. When I tried to prepare it to find my cousin, it crumbled into dust. I am assuming that perhaps the two halves where connected so once the first half was lost the other's magic slowly faded until this happened." Phobos said, clearly not happy with the development.

After a moment of silence Phobos spoke again, "Now since have found one princess but can't find the other, it makes it important we bring my sister into our protection. That way, we can at least ensure another stalemate in this war." This really got everyone's attention.

"What do you mean by 'at least a stalemate'?" Will asked hesitantly. It was a question that all present wanted to ask, Will just beat them to it. Everyone thought the princesses were supposed to tip the scales - not even them.

Phobos gave them a grave look as he responded, 'To put it simply, my aunt right now is backed against the wall. She will most likely assume we still have access to our half of the stone and thus will be desperate now. The last thing we need is to risk the princess we do know of so for her own protection, we need to tell her about her heritage." Phobos prepared himself for what he was to say next.

"Cedric is waiting for my sister to come back to his store, that is why he is not here at this meeting right now. We want you five to act as proof that magic exists, seeing how your transformed states are less…intimidating than Cedric's. So I say put it to a vote on whether or not tell my sister about her heritage or keep her ignorant, the same vote will of course apply to my cousin as well." Phobos explained.

Everyone knew how this vote was going to go, Phobos had both the majority on his side so the vote was over quickly. After that was done, the Guardians were about to leave when Caleb came up and took Will's hand. "Good luck with the meeting, I know you would prefer to leave both of them out of this war but this needs to be done." Caleb said, trying to encourage Will that this was for the best.

Will smiled back sadly as she nodded her head in acceptance. "I guess you're right, I would still prefer that we did not have to, though." The two stared into each other's eyes until Irma shouted out, "Hey love birds! Either break it up or kiss already!"

This made the two remember where they where and jumped back from each other, both blushing slightly. "I better go, duty calls and I have to beat some sense into Irma." Will said shyly and headed over to the other Guardians, once using the rift to head back to Earth.

Caleb just stared at where Will once had been until Aldarn spoke up, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, or so they say." This got the pointy-eared rebel another jab in the gut.

---

Elyon was entering the bookstore with Rick (Cedric) waiting patiently for her arrival. The shape shifter had been hoping the Guardians would be back before Elyon arrived, but thought that maybe their sudden arrival by using the rift, would certainly make believing the story much simpler.

"Ah Elyon, good to see you. Please come and sit down." Cedric said, as he gestured to one of the seats at the small round wooden table he was sitting at. Elyon smiled as she sat down. She seemed nervous, which Cedric knew was normal for most humans who were getting a job, and boy did Cedric have a job for her.

Before the two could start the 'job interview' a familiar flash of light happened near the back of the shop, signaling the rift had been used. 'Ah perfect timing, no need to beat around the bush just to keep the girl here' Cedric thought to himself, as he watched Elyon stare at where the light had come from.

As the young blonde stared in confusion at what happened, she heard a familiar voice yelling, "Irma, did you really have to do that? We were having a moment!"

'Is that…Will's voice? Did she do something to cause that flash of light?' Elyon thought in her mind trying make sense of what had happened. Elyon's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Irma's voice reply, "Of course, if I don't say anything at the worst possible moment, then I don't get to have any fun."

Just as that was finished being said, Elyon Brown could see them walking out from behind one of the book shelves, putting all five still fully transformed girls in plane sight of Elyon.

The girls then saw Elyon and froze on the spot, no one said anything until Cornelia managed to gasp out, "Elyon, what are you doing here?" This partially snapped Elyon out her frozen state and said, "I'm here for a job interview…why do you all look like giant Tinker Bells?"

This made Cedric nearly fall out of his chair laughing at Elyon's comment. This got everyone looking at him, though for Elyon it was in confusion, while the Guardians glared at him in annoyance since they did not find the Peter Pan reference all that funny.

"I have not had a laugh like that in some time. You must admit Guardians, it's a very accurate comparison." Cedric said, as he calmed himself down. Of course by calling the five girls Guardians made Elyon even more confused.

"Guardians?" Elyon asked as she looked back and fourth between Cedric and W.I.T.C.H. hoping someone would explain everything soon.

None of the girls knew what to say, but it seemed Cedric did. "Why don't we get your 'parents' here first your highness, before we get into answering questions, might as well get everything over with all at once." Cedric said, which made everybody look at him in shock.

"Your highness?!" Everyone said at the same time. The Guardians were shocked that one of the princesses they have been looking for was under their noses all this time. Elyon was on the other hand starting to get light headed, since she was getting plenty of questions but no answers.

Cornelia, seeing her best fiend's dilemma, came over and placed her hand on Elyon's shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry I'll call you parents, you just relax and be patient with us a little longer." Cornelia said, in an attempt to help her friend clam down a bit.

It seemed to help and Elyon watched as Will transformed them back to normal and Cornelia made the call to the Browns. Cornelia did not even need to say more than the word "Meridian" and that had the Browns at the bookshop 15 minutes later.

As Alborn and Meridell entered the shop, they seemed a bit on edge. The girls could not blame them. After all, they had kept Elyon's heritage a secret all these years only to find out that despite all their efforts, the rebels found her anyway.

"So…are we going back to the rebel HQ or having this meeting here?" Irma asked, trying to break the uneasy silence that was quickly forming. It helped to a small degree but not much, as every one thought the idea was over.

"Well like Cedric said, we might as well get every thing over and done with all at once, so let head back…if that is alright with you of course Mr. & Mrs. Brown." Will suggested, looking over to the Browns to make sure if the were okay with the idea.

They looked hesitant to answer, but Elyon on the other hand was not. "Lets go. Then I want to know what's going on!" Elyon demanded, hoping someone would give her answers soon.

With that, the Browns gave a reluctant nod that they agreed as well, knowing that if Elyon was wanting answers they needed to give them to her. Cedric closed the shop and everyone headed into the back to use the rift to go see Prince Phobos.

---

Phobos and Caleb waited in the meeting room, wanting to hear how the meeting with Phobos' sister went. Of course while it was unexpected that Cedric came back with the Guardians and the Browns, it was also a welcome one. It would make recruiting Elyon that much easier with her here rather on Earth after all.

"Prince Phobos, allow me to introduce you to your sister, Elyon." Cedric said, with a grin on his face while Elyon just gasped in shock. "Okay, what is going on? Rick, first you call me your highness, then I find out my closest friends turn into fairies and now you're saying I have a brother. Will somebody please explain what's this all about!" Elyon demanded, needing to be explained to soon or she was going to have a nervous breakdown.

Phobos put on his mask of false care and concern and he gestured for everyone to sit down as he said, "Of course my dear, please sit down and ask whatever questions you have. You must have many, given the circumstances."

After about an hour and a half, Phobos, along with Caleb and the Guardians, managed to explain ever thing to the confused Elyon. Said girl was now looking very angry and was now glaring daggers at her so called parents.

"When were you going tell me? I had the right to know! I might have been able to help end this war and the people's suffering!" Elyon yelled, her eyes filled with tears. The Browns did not know how to answer the girl they had considered a daughter for all these years, but Will came to their defense.

"Elyon, what they did seemed to be no different than our original mission, to keep you and your cousin, whereever she is, out of harm's way until all this was settled. Even if you had been here, there was no guarantee you would have been able to help any." Will said, in hopes of reasoning with Elyon.

It seemed to work much to the Browns, the Guardians and Caleb's relief, though you could tell Elyon was still far from happy with her 'parents'. This was when Phobos spoke up so to try and put his plan into action.

"I think the important thing right now is, what do you wish to do with this information my dear." Phobos said in caring tone of voice, hoping to lure his sister into his web of lies. If he could then his aunt's reign as Queen would be over in a year at most. Then Phobos could finally take command of HIS kingdom.

This had Elyon thinking for a minute while everyone waited in anticipation of her decision. Eventually Elyon looked her brother in the eyes and said, "Sign me up, the woman who calls herself my aunt needs to be brought to justice."

This had a mixed reaction among those present. Phobos and Cedric were pleased because this meant they were one step closer to conquering Meridian.

For Caleb, Taranee and Cornelia, they were happy because they thought they were one step closer to saving Meridian.

The Browns along with Will, Irma and Hay Lin on the other hand, were worried that a possible threat to Meridian now had the means to destroy every hing they had hoped to protect.

'Please let this be the right path.' Will silently wished, as Phobos started saying they should celebrate this occasion.

---

Okay one princess down, one to go. Will should be finding with the next chapter or two, but while your waiting read and review.


	8. Celebrations and Suffering

AN: Sorry for the long wait. Had a huge chapter going here and ended up having to break it up into two, that's why it took so long to finish this update.

Once again I would like say I don't own W.I.T.C.H. and I would also liked to thank KnightofFaerun for his help betaing this story. I'll try to have Shunned One updated soon as well since my beta reader Sniper Fodder might have some free time soon.

---

Chapter 8: Celebrations and Suffering

After Elyon decided to join the rebellion against Queen Susan, things got very hectic as preparations for a great celebration were being made. The festivities would be held in three weeks time, that way all the smaller pockets of the rebellion around Meridian could take part in them, since it would take a while to discretely make the journey to the Infinite City.

It also gave Hay Lin time to go wild with one of her hobbies, making clothes. She practically dragged each of the girls into the Silver Dragon after the meeting and took measurements.

Hay Lin planned on making a medieval type gown for each of them to wear to the celebration and none dared to try to talk her out of it, they knew once the Asian girl set her mind to something nothing would stop her.

Will had found it a little uncomfortable, being made to stand around in her underwear while Hay Lin did her thing, but the other girls said she would get used to it. Will had to envy Elyon though; she was able to escape this torture because Phobos said he would help his sister get the proper clothes for the occasion.

"And you're done. For now any way," Hay Lin said, as she took the last of the measurements. This made Will stare at Hay Lin for a moment before asking, "For now? What else did you need to do that you would need me for?"

Hay Lin smirked, mischief clearly in her eyes as she responded, "After the dress is done I need to you to be a pincushion as I make the final adjustments." Hay Lin was just teasing of course, but if there was one thing every one feared about Hay Lin was when she had needles. Unless you stood as still as a statue and were on Hay Lin's good side, you were most likely going to get pricked a few times at the very least.

"Ah…um…Hay Lin you…do know all those threats to hurt you with my super strength were only jokes…right?" Will asked, as she started to sweat nervously at the idea of Hay Lin possibly getting even while make the final adjustments on the dress.

"Don't worry Will, I don't hold a grudges…for long," Hay Lin said, in sweet tone just to have fun at the red head's expense. 'Revenge is sweet,' the young clothes designer thought as she let the now very frightened Will get dressed.

---

In Meridian, Caleb was also trying to get something proper for the occasion. Of course he was had it a bit easier than Will, since he just went to Aldarn's father to have some custom armour made. Being a warrior and hopefully a future knight of Meridian after the war was over; Caleb was permitted to choose what one could call formal armour over fancy robes and such, during formal occasions.

Formal armour was for most part; tended to look like regular armour just with a few things to make it fancier than the norm. The armour Aldarn's father would make would be a full suit of silver coloured armour with golden trim. Despite being such a large job, the suit of armour would be ready in two weeks time. Aldarn's father was known for two things, one being the quality of his work, while the second was the incredible speed he could do it in.

"Thanks for doing this, since you know this is a bit…out of my price range," Caleb said, looking a bit embarrassed at the fact he could not pay his best friend's father for his work.

The man just shook his head with a smile as responded, "It's alright lad, from what I heard my son has been giving you a hard time. Consider this a gift to make up for all the wise cracks, besides if and when you win the war I'm sure you be able to pay me back in no time."

Caleb nodded his head in gratitude and headed off to help with the preparations for the princess' celebration.

---

In the royal palace, a week after the battle between queen Susan and the Guardians, said Queen was still in her bed unconscious. The blow to the head combined with the beating and exhaustion she was in before hand, the healer said it would take time for the Queen to recover.

Raythor took over running the kingdom in the Queen's absence, while Sandpit stood in constant watch over her. Raythor would have preferred to work in shifts at doing that task, but he was the only one who could talk and he knew how his Queen ran things so it was for the best for every one he took over things for a while.

"I hope her highness recovers soon, I can't do much to counterattack the rebels with out her highness' permission…blast you Earth Guardian! I will make you pay if I ever get my hands on you!" Raythor growled under his breath, as he went about doing his round of keeping everything running smoothly as possible until his Queen recovered.

---

Two weeks after the battle between the Queen and the Guardians, preparations for the big day were going smoothly and the Guardians were half through their own preparations. Hay Lin being the skilled tailor she was had each dress ready in record time.

Will's was red with gold trimming; Irma's dark blue; Taranee's was dark green with light green trimming; Cornelia's was pink and Hay Lin's was yellow with red trimming.

They along with Elyon had been learning a few Meridian dances so they could better take part of the festivities. Will of course did not get to attend many of these lessons because of her work, but tried to come as often as possible.

'You need to do this Will or you can't dance with Caleb' Will thought in her mind, as the girls tried to help Will get the hang of one of the dances they had been learning.

---

Meanwhile, in the royal palace, Susan was stirring for the first time in two weeks. Fortunately the healer was present for this and quickly had Sandpit fetch Raythor, since the healer knew the Queen's second in command would want to hear of this.

"Where…I'm…I?" Susan asked weakly, still getting her thoughts straightened after her long sleep.

The healer quickly went to the Queen's side to help explain what had happened. "Your highness, you have been unconscious for two weeks after your battle with the Guardians. You had us worried with your head injury but it seems like you're going to be okay. It will be another week before your're back to full strength, as long as you rest of course," The healer explained.

After hearing the words 'battle' and 'Guardians', Susan's memories started coming back. "That's right. I was confronting the Keeper of the Heart when…" Susan said, as she tried to recall what happened. That was when her eyes went wide as she recalled what happened next.

Susan then shot out of her bed despite the healer's protests. As Susan tried to stand though, her legs gave out from underneath her and were making it hard for the Queen to do anything.

As Susan tried to stand once again, Raythor entered the room He was not surprised his Queen was trying to get out of bed so soon after waking up; Susan always had been a bad patient, never doing as a healer instructed, which often greatly displeased said healers for obvious reasons. "Should you really be up and about so soon?" the soldier asked, despite knowing his question would most likely fall on deaf ears.

Susan as expected ignored the question, as she focused on finally getting her legs working enough to stand and walk again. "Right now we need to get to Will. She is in danger if Phobos finds out about her, if the slime has not already that is," Susan growled, as she made her way towards the door while the healer kept calling out protests.

Susan did not get far before her legs gave out again but Raythor to help steady her this time. "What do you mean the Keeper is in danger? What could Phobos possibly find out about her that would make him harm her?" Raythor asked, with a great deal of concern in his voice, worried what had his Queen in such a panic. He also found it strange his Queen called the Keeper by name; his Queen always showed proper respect by calling the Keeper by her title and never addressed the girl in a personal manner.

"I should have paid more attention to your observation a month and a half ago…Sniff…if I had she would be safe in my arms right now." Raythor heard his Queen say, sounding as if she was about to cry.

This of course shocked Raythor; nothing ever upset his Queen enough to make her cry. 'She only cried that I can remember was when her daughter and niece were kidnapped. And what is her highness talking about? An observation from a month and a half ago, what could that…wait that was when…' Raythor thought to himself, as he recalled that day.

---

Flash Back:

"I want you and Sandpit to bring me this girl I'll have a portal open up in a several hours at location where you can get her without incident" Susan said to a very confused Raythor and Sandpit.

Susan noticing this waited for Raythor to ask his question, which took a minute for him to do so most likely trying to make sense of the request. "If I may be so bold your highness…why is it that you want the girl? Do you believe she is…your daughter?"

Now it was Susan's turn to look confused then looked back the pool and realized something "Now that you mention it I do see a resemblance but no I don't believe she is my daughter. If she were I would be tearing the Veil apart so I could get my hands on the Oracle"

End of Flash Back

---

"It can't be…she has been under our noses all this time," Raythor whispered under his breath. He then noticed his Queen was once again trying to stand on her own power and it seemed she had gotten her sadness under control; most likely want to keep it buried away until she was alone and could let it loose in private.

"Yes she has been and now that you know, that means you know what we must do. Get Sandpit, Gargoyle and as many guards as you can, we head for Earth," Susan said, her face growing very serious. Raythor knew he needed calm his Queen down, a force like that would not go unnoticed on Earth and who know how the people of that world would react to the sight.

"Your highness, if I may suggest a more peaceful, subtle and…ironically fitting method," Raythor said, hoping to reason with his Queen, before she accidentally started a small scale war on Earth in her rush to retrieve her daughter.

Susan thought this over for minute, then headed back over to her bed and sat down before signalling Raythor to continue. With a nod the man did so and said, "First of all, Vathek managed to do some digging into what the rebels have been doing for the last two weeks. It seems they lost their own half of the Stone of Threbe shortly after using it to find your niece."

Susan was both saddened and relieved at this news. Sad because her niece was now in Phobos' clutches and relieved because with out the stone, Phobos was most likely still unaware of Will's true heritage.

"As you may have guessed, it highly unlikely Phobos knows of the Keep…I mean the princess' true identity, so she should be safe until we can act two weeks from now," Raythor continued but noticed his Queen looked a little annoyed at the idea of waiting two weeks.

"Mind telling me why I must wait two more weeks when I have already waited thirteen years," Susan asked, making it clear she wanted a VERY good explanation.

Raythor nodded head, signalling he understood as he responded, "There are two reasons your highness, the first being that in two weeks time a rather fitting night happens at your daughter's school. It's called 'Parent's Night' a time where parents' visit the school to check on the children's progress in their studies. Since it's a rather public event the Guardians won't be tempted to pull anything and your daughter's parents' won't be able do anything with out attracting unwanted attention."

Susan had to admit it was a sound plan and a bit more reasonable then her original idea of going storming off to Earth with a small army. Then Susan remembered something and asked, "What was the second reason?"

That was when Raythor seemed a little reluctant to say any thing, but after a minute he braced himself and continued, "As you know Phobos wants to use your niece as a way to gather support for his cause, so he is holding celebration at the end of the week. Your daughter has personal reasons to look forward to it, mainly because the man escorting her during the festivities is…the rebel leader himself."

Susan was not sure wheter to be happy or worried at this news. She was glad her daughter was finally expressing her feelings for the boy, but Susan was also worried about how telling her daughter about her heritage would affect her relationship with the rebel leader.

"Hm…this is a bit troubling, if there was any way I could do I would leave Wilhelmina ignorant of her true identity for at least a while longer, but that is not an option. We will have to just tell her and hope for the best," Susan said before asking, "How did you find out about this 'Parents' Night' event any way?"

Raythor grinned as he responded, "The Passling Blunk was quite useful for gathering information about Earth. It took a bit of bribing and threats of having him bathed, but he finally agreed to cooperate. Once he did, he gathered a surprising amount of information about the school where the Guardians, daughter and your niece attend. I was originally hoping to come up with plans to contact the Princess Elyon, but from what I heard she believes in her brother too much to even try unfortunately."

Susan nodded her head, knowing full well Phobos would have pulled out all the stops to turns his sister into a tool for his evil ambition. "Well at least the information will not go to waste," Susan said before turning to look at the healer, who was still present in the room.

"I hope you will keep this information to your self," Susan said, hoping the healer could be trusted.

"You follow your healer's orders and do NOTHING but bed rest for one week, I'll keep my mouth shut," the healer stated firmly. It was of course not right for a healer to blackmail a patient under most circumstances, but with this one the healer was more then willing to make an exception.

Susan just stared at the healer while Raythor laughed. It would seem that for once a healer had the Queen at their mercy. As Susan finally gave into the healer's demand, she glared at Raythor who was still laughing at her expense.

'Think of it this way Susan, you will need your strength back for your meeting with your daughter any way,' The voice of Meridian said in Susan's mind.

'I know, I know,' Susan grumbled in her mind before asking the voice in serious tone, 'Did you know Will was my daughter?'

After moment of silence the voice responded, 'I thought she had an unusual aura but I had no idea. What worries me is that once I could connect with her again, though it was only briefly, I sensed an emotional void in her heart. I could not stay connected long enough to tell what it was exactly but I know its there.'

'Why was it you could not remain connected for long?' Susan asked, getting worried at what this void in her daughter's heart could be.

'To hide her from me and to keep its connection with your daughter, the Heart of Candracar along with Council of Candracar, placed a seal on your daughter's powers. From what I can tell that beam of energy the Stone of Threbe shot at your daughter was the stone's was destroying the seal, but it weakened it instead. So while I was briefly able to connect with the princess, the remains of the seal forced me out, it will take while for the seal to weaken enough for me to create a permanent connection and allow me to find out what the void is.' The voice of Meridian explained.

'The Oracle and his council are lucky I am forced to rest and regain my strength or I would be paying them a visit right now!' Susan growled in her mind. This got a chuckle from the Voice of Meridian as it commented, 'Speaking of rest…'

'You're worse then the damn healer!' Susan screamed in her mind, which only made the Voice laugh harder.

---

Three weeks after battle, the big night finally came. The girls had changed into their dresses at the bookshop and were getting ready to go and Will was clearly nervous.

It did not help that she was still feeling weak from what happened three weeks ago; in fact Will thought she was getting worse. It did not help matters that she was also starting to feel a little ill, but she hid all this well enough to avoid getting any one worried about her.

"Well here we go," Cornelia, said as she pulled the book on the shelf and activated the rift.

Once again they appeared in the meeting room of the rebel leaders, but this time only Caleb was waiting for them or to be precise he was waiting for Will. To say Will was surprised by Caleb's appearance would a drastic understatement.

Along with the silver and gold armour he was wearing, Caleb was also wearing a dark red cape with the crest of Meridian royal family on it. Elyon had heard of Caleb desire to one-day join the ranks of the kingdom's knights so she knighted him.

Though in reality Elyon did not have that authority since only the Queen or Meridian could do that, but with every one believing the lies Phobos told, every one including Elyon, assumed she was the rightful ruler of Meridian.

"Caleb you…look great." Will said, blushing ever so slightly at sight of her boyfriend. Caleb just smiled as he responded, "Thank you, I must admit you beautiful tonight but you're missing just two thing that will make you look perfect."

This got him a confused look from Will and she about to ask what Caleb was talking about, but then noticed on hand that had been behind his back the whole time was moving and revealed a crown of white flowers.

"First of two," Caleb said, as placed the crown of flowers on Will's head. Then Caleb took hold of the string of the Heart of Candracar and gently pulled out from underneath Will clothing and now hung around Will's neck in plain sight. "And that is the second of the two. Now you look perfect," Caleb added, this caused Will to deepen her blush.

"Hey strike a pose you two," Taranee said, as she took out a digital camera she had brought along. After minute of explaining to Caleb what the device was, he and Will stood next to each other with one of Caleb's arms pulling Will close and Will resting her head on Caleb's should.

Taranee quickly took the picture and then showed them on the small screen how it looked.

"I'll print a couple of copies and give them to you two," Taranee said, as put the camera away for the time being. After that the group went out door to the meeting hut and into the actual rebel camp and saw an amazing sight.

The normally simple military-like set up was gone and in its place was a medieval-style festival, all sorts of small game booths were set up and areas had been set aside for jousts, duals and dancing. The sound of music and the smell of many different kinds of food filled the air.

"You guys are finally here!" the group heard Elyon's voice yell. They looked over see Elyon running over to the, dressed in robes of dark and light green. Once she got close, Elyon inspected Hay Lin's work and smiled as she said, "You out did your self this time Hay Lin. Even I thought you not would be able to pull off making five dresses in three weeks."

"What can I say, I got a gift" Hay Lin giggled and blushed a little under the praise. While Elyon was complementing Hay Lin's work, Phobos, Cedric, Miranda and the Browns walked up and greeted the girls.

"At last, Guardians, have arrived, I was worried you were going to miss the feast" Phobos said, with very convincing false kindness as he greeted the Guardians. He personally could not wait until he could drop the noble prince act and finally do as he pleased, but he knew it was only matter of time now, so he disgraced and waited for his moment to strike.

"It was my fault; I had a few last minute things to take care of." Will said, apologetically. Will had just finished last cleaning job for the day and was just finishing putting her supplies away, when her parents had come home so she had to wait until they left before she could meet the others at the book shop.

It seems that her parents had a company party to attend to and had come home early so to get ready for it, so it took a while for them to leave. 'At least that means I won't have to worry about them finding out I was gone tonight' Will thought happily.

Phobos nodded his head in acceptance of the apology. "It's quite alright, since we now know of your personal responsibilities. Hopefully with my sister's help, we can limit the use of you five; it will be easier for you all to maintain your secret that way." Phobos said, once trying to fully convert the remaining Guardians to his side. He could still tell the Water and Air Guardians were reluctant to fully trust him and the Keeper still seemed neutral in her opinions. Though as long as they did as they were told, Phobos did not really care if they fully trusted him or not, it was just easier if they did.

After the greetings were finished, Phobos led the now very large group to a set of tables. The tables arranged in a large U shaped formation and it seemed the large area of tables surrounding it looked as if prepared to have entertainment performed while every one ate.

As every one sat down, Phobos stayed standing to give a speech. "I would like to thank those of you who have made the long journey to be here on this wondrous day. Now that we have my sister rallying support to our side and the search for my cousin is continuing, my aunt's days as Queen are numbered." With this being said, the other rebels roared in approval.

After the uproar and subsided, the feast began. It was hard for the Guardians and Elyon to figure out what the food was since they were not familiar with Meridian cuisine. But with the Browns', or in Will's case Caleb's, help the girls pickrd out what foods to try.

As they ate, every one watched several small performances take place during the meal. Mostly small things like slight of hand magic tricks, fire breathing, knife throwing and so on.

After the feast was over, came the time for the other activates to come into play. Now people could enjoy the game booths, dancing, jousts and sword duals. "May I have this dance, my lady?" Caleb asked, holding out his hand for Will to take.

Will blushed lightly, as she nodded her head and took Caleb's hand and was led to over where everyone was dancing. Despite feeling weak, Will managed to finish three dances in a row, much to her surprise. She would have gone for a fourth dance but Caleb led her off to the side much to her confusion.

Once they were out of the way of the other dancers' way, Caleb looked at Will with great concern in his eyes. "Will, are you feeling alright?" Caleb asked. This made Will look at Caleb in shock as she stuttered out, "W-what do you mean?"

Caleb gave Will a concerned smile as he cupped Will's cheek and said, "I can tell you're not at full strength. You hide it well, so well that it scares me you have such skill at it. If you not feeling well I can go change into some Earth clothes and take you home if you want."

"No. I'm fine just a little tired that's all." Will said, hoping to convince Caleb that there was nothing wrong. This was her first date and she was having such a good time that she did not want it to end yet.

"Well…if you're sure. But let's take a break from the dancing for a while and enjoy the rest of the activates." Caleb suggested wanting to give Will time to rest. Will nodded her head happily and took Caleb by the arm, as he led her towards the game booths.

Most of the booths were busy, but the two did not care. They were enjoying the stroll through the stands. After a while of walking around, Will noticed a stand with all sorts of dolls and stuffed animals hanging from very short strings on the back wall of the stand. The reason this caught her attention was because people were avoiding it for some reason.

"The man who runs it makes all prizes for his stand and they are of the best quality of any other you'll find here. Because his prizes are so popular a lot of rebels try to win them for their children, so he had to stop using traditional games and started making something both challenging and risky so not get his stall cleaned out in a matter of minutes." Caleb explained, easily figuring Will confusion.

"What do you mean by risky?" Will asked, trying to figure out how a game could be risky. She was about to get her answer, as Caleb gently took her over to the stall. Once there Caleb asked, "See anything you like?"

After a moment of looking Will pointed to 12 inch frog that looked a lot like Kermit the Frog. Will could never explain why but she always had small obsession for the things related to the creature, but never tried to collect anything since she knew her parents would throw it out or destroy it. 'Unless I hide it.' Will thought to herself, hoping Caleb could win it for her.

The owner of the booth handed three daggers to Caleb in exchange for a few gold coins. "Normal rules: cut the string you get the prize, but damage to the prize in any way with the dagger and you pay for it and you forfeit the item," the man explained as Caleb picked up one of the daggers.

'Those are the risks!' Will screamed in her mind, as she double-checked how long the string was on each prize on the wall. The string was so short that the only way one could cut the string with out damaging the toy was if you had perfect aim.

Will was about to tell Caleb to stop, so to spare him his money and the toy a grizzly fate but was too slow. Caleb threw the dagger and it was heading for the stuffed frog. Will shut her eyes tight, not wanting to watch what happened. She then heard a load thud a split second after she closed her eyes.

Will then heard the stall owner grumble something before she felt someone put something in her hands. "There you go Will," Will heard Caleb's voice say, making her open her eyes to see the stuffed toy in her arms.

"Y-You actually…" Will started to stutter out in surprise while Caleb chuckled at her shocked expression. "I said it was risky not impossible," Caleb said with a smirk. Will smiled as she cuddled the frog for a second, and then leaned in to give Caleb a peck on the cheek.

"Thank you," Will said, as she cuddled the frog some more. Caleb just smiled as he once again gently too Will by the arm again and the two walked away from the stand. Fifteen minutes later as the two enjoyed the sights; they heard a voice call out, "Caleb!"

They turned to see Aldarn and Drake running up. This had Will reaching for the Heart, thinking the two were here to make fun of them some more. But Will stopped when she heard the two exclaim, "You know how long we have been looking for you! If you don't hurry you're going to be disqualified!"

Will confused at what they were talking about asked, "Disqualified for what exactly?"

"No time to explain, just move!" Aldarn said, as he and Drake started dragging the two off somewhere. A few short minutes later Will saw they were heading towards one of the jousting arenas.

"Sorry about forgetting to tell you about this Will. I signed up for the main jousting tournament, hope you not too mad for this interrupting our time together," Caleb apologized as Aldarn and Drake started helping Caleb get ready for his turn in the tournament.

"It's alright…people don't get hurt doing this right?" Will asked, a bit nervous that something may to Caleb during the competition. This made Caleb give the red head a reassuring smile as he mounted his horse and said, "Don't worry, I have done this hundreds of times and even if something does happen it's rarely anything serious. Just sit back and watch the show."

Will smiled back and nodded as Aldarn took her back to where to the spectators watched the matches. "Don't worry; I have never seen Caleb loose a joust yet. You should be more worried for his opponents," Aldarn said with a grin, wanting to relieve his best friend's girlfriend of any last doubts she may have had before heading back to where Caleb and Drake were.

After watching three jousts Will finally saw Caleb come out for his first match. Despite both Caleb and Aldarn saying everything would be fine, Will was still worried that Caleb would get hurt. She had figured the rules of the jousts by watching which were quite simple. The two riders ether went at each other until on could knock the other off their horse or until one gave up.

As Caleb and his opponent lined up to charge on another, Will prayed that the match would be over fast and that Caleb would be alright. Then after few seconds the rider were given the signal to start and rode at each with full force.

Within seconds, the two riders' lances met with their opponent's shield; shattering the wooden weapons into hundreds of pieces. Nether rider looked shaken from the impact, so that meant Caleb was alright, to Will's relief.

'The part that worries me is how long can Caleb keep it up and how much can the other rider take?' Will thought in her mind, as the two riders got ready for the next charge.

After a total of nine separate attempts to knock each other off their mounts, both Caleb and his opponent were looking tired. Will hugged the stuffed frog in her arms tightly in anticipation, hoping this would be the final time.

Will held her breath as the two riders clashed for the tenth time making Will shut her eyes tight not wanting to see the outcome. Seconds later Will hears the crowd cheering like crazy, making her assume someone had been victorious.

Will slowly opens her eyes to find Caleb still on his horse while his opponent was on his back and was slowly getting back to his feet. That was when a man came out and said the next round of matches would be put on hold for thirty minutes so the competitors had a chance to rest.

This gave Will a chance to go back to where the contestants were and check on Caleb. As Will got in sight of where Caleb was, she saw Lucia was checking Caleb over. This made Will rush over thinking something was wrong, but the older woman shook her head with a smile her face as she said, "Its standard practice to check on those competing even if they don't have obvious injuries, just to be safe my dear."

This made Will breath a sigh of relief, then realized Lucia was handing her a wooden bucket for some reason. "Would you please go get some water for me? You just head straight that way and you find a set of stairs that will lead you to a small pond above ground," Lucia asked.

Will smiled and nodded her head that she would go get the water and took off the direction Lucia pointed in. Will found the stairs very quickly and was making her way up them until she saw the exit/entry point was already open.

Will now being worried, quietly made her way to the entrance. As she got close to the entrance she heard voices that sounded familiar. As Will got closer could make out what they where saying.

"My lord, what is the next step in the plan?" Will heard a voice, she recognized as Cedric's. 'Plan? What plan?' Will thought, as she made her way to top of the stairs.

When she got there, she saw Phobos, Cedric, Frost and Tracker standing near the pond having some kind of discussion. Will waited to hear Phobos' response but Frost spoke up first. "Does it really matter? Soon we can rid of these rebel fools, that's all that matters. I'm tired of having to put up with those idiots, especially that fool Caleb," Frost grunted out, making Will want to transform and use her strength to rip out Frost's tongue. But she knew she needed to hear the rest of the meeting out, it could very well be the proof she needed.

That was when Phobos finally spoke as he let out an evil chuckle at Frost's impatience. "Don't worry, my brutish friend. Soon my aunt will be overthrown and then I can rid myself of that naive child I call a sister. Once that is done all that will be left is to destroy what is left of the rebellion, which is when you can have your fun hunting down those fools."

This made Frost grin at the thought and start chuckling evilly along with all those present. Will on the other hand was filled with dread and terror; she had given the real enemy what he needed to take over Meridian!

'What should I do? I can't just tell the rebels without actual proof, not even Caleb would believe this. Maybe after the party I'll talk to Irma and Hay Lin, hopefully with their help we can plan to expose Phobos before it's too late.' Will was thinking to herself, not aware that Miranda was coming up from behind Will.

With great force Miranda shoved Will out into the open and into plain sight of Phobos and his followers. Will yelped as she fell to the ground drawing the attention of the group of villains.

"Looks like we have spy - seize her!" Phobos commanded, while Will tried to get up and transform. "Guardian...hmf!" Will started to say but an already transformed Cedric had clamped his hand over Will's mouth and with the other tore the Heart of Candracar from around Will neck, keeping it out of her reach so she could not call on its powers to help her.

"There will be no uniting for you, Guardian!" Cedric hissed, as he wrapped his tail around Will's body so to restrain her. As he did Phobos approached with a cold glare on his face, no longer hiding his true nature.

"What did you hear, Guardian?" Phobos demanded as Cedric released his hand from Will's mouth. "Enough to know who really killed your mother you monster!" Will declared, trying her best to hide her fear but was failing miserably.

The got her a slap in the face from Phobos as he responded, "Worthless child, if it were not for the fact I plan on ridding myself of you for good I'd teach you how to better address your betters. Get rid of her and make it quick. I'll go alert the rebels of…lets see…I think trying to murder me should suffice. Yes that should do nicely in turning the rebels and your friend against you or your memory."

Phobos let out an evil laugh as he started to walk away but stopped when Will started glow bright pink before disappearing in a flash of light. 'How could she telatransport with out the Heart? Unless she is…NO!' Phobos roared in his mind, figuring out Will's secret.

"We must have her found! If she is who I think she is, then we must capture her before my aunt finds out about her!" Phobos growled out signaling his warriors to follow him.

He knew could not tell the rebels, his sister or the Guardians that the Keeper was his cousin; that would be too hard to predict and control. But he could tell them of the Keeper's "murder attempt". That way, Phobos would able to have the rebels do the dirty work for him.

'I'll have her friends so convinced the Keeper tried to kill me; even they won't believe her story. I even have the perfect story to explain her sudden attempt to kill me.' Phobos plotted in his mind, as he went to inform the rebellion of the Keeper's "betrayal".

---

Meanwhile, Will had reappeared in one of Meridian's forests. Unknown to her, the powers she had been born with, had activated, that was what saved her from Phobos and his minions.

Due to her close encounter with death, Will could not think of anything but getting away from Meridian and getting back to Earth. This train of thought allowed Will to unknowingly call on her powers to open a portal.

Will of course thought it was just luck that the portal opened before her and ran through it, hoping to find safety on Earth until she could talk to the others Guardians. Much to Will's shock and amazement the portal had led right into her own room.

'But…how do I explain this to my parents?' Will asked in her mind. Once again, Will's mere thoughts and desires were all it took to for her magic to do its thing and closed the portal for the red headed girl.

But then Will felt a painful burning in her chest, this was actually the seal on her powers once again taking hold and forcing her powers back into dormancy. But to Will it was like torture, and fought back the urge to scream in pain.

While in reality it took five minutes to go away, for Will it seemed like an eternity. Once the painful sensation finally did pass, Will felt even more weak and ill than she did before. Will barely had the strength left to hide the crow of flowers and the toy frog Caleb had given her in her closet.

Somehow Will had managed to hold onto the stuffed toy despite what she had gone through tonight. She did not care as long as she had her mementos of what had started out as such a wonderful night for her.

Will was then just pulling out a pair of pajamas to get ready for bed; hoping sleep would help her regain her strength when she heard the front door burst open. Her parents were home if they saw the dress Hay Lin made for her, she was in for a world or trouble!

"Brat get up from your ugly sleep and…" Will's father started growling as he burst into the room but fell silent as he caught sight of what Will was wearing. Will froze in fear as the man came towards her and grabbed her by the hair while he demanded with growl, "Where did you get that?!"

"F-from a friend" Will stuttered out, which was a big mistake. Will's father punched Will in the stomach making her collapse to her knees in tears. "When did we give you permission to have friends?" The man demanded, as he kicked Will in the chest, knocking her on her back.

Will did not even get time to say anything as her father grabbed her by the hair once again and dragged her towards the closet in the hall. Will's mother seemed to be getting something ready inside it, which filled Will with fear. Will knew what was to come once the reached the closet.

'Please not that! Any thing but that!' Will silently begged in her mind as she was pushed into the closet and was hung by two strong leather straps that Will's mother had been putting in place.

The next thing she knew, Will heard the tearing of the back of her dress and even her under shirt - exposing the bare flesh of back. After that was done, Will's mother forced a gag into Will's mouth and tied it into place.

Every thing was now set for the part Will dreaded as the sound of a leather belt whipped her in the back. The gag silenced the scream of pain that would have followed as well as future ones that were to come.

After an hour of the painful torture, Will's parents closed the closet door saying the 'fun' would begin again tomorrow. Will knew that this meant she would be in the closet getting daily whippings and beatings for who knew how long. This meant any chance of getting her friends on her side against Phobos was gone and she would be alone again.

Those thoughts made her cry her elf into a restless sleep, one filled with nightmares of her friends abandoning her, saying they believed Phobos over her and even Caleb saying he did not believe her and was siding with Phobos. They all said she deserved the beatings she would be getting since she was a traitor.

These nightmares would be with her; haunting her sleep for a long while to come, making both the waking and sleeping world a source of endless torment for Will, one with no escape from the pain she would be forced to endure.

---

Well another chapter down and 9 should up very soon.


	9. Parents Night

An: And here is chapter 9 hope you all like it.

Once again point out I don't own W.I.T.C.H. and would like to thank Knight for all his hard work.

Also I would like to thank my other regular reviwiers Wilhelmina Vandom and Mirai No Dinurs as well as all those read but not reviewed.

Chapter 9: Parents Night

On Meridian, in the Infinite City where the rebel base was located, the celebration died down after Phobos told everyone of Will's attempt to assassinate him. Now everyone was either too angry or too confused to continue the party and many were making preparations to return to their respective homes, all planning and spreading the news of what happened among the other rebel supporters.

The rebel leaders along with the Guardians and Elyon had gone to the meeting room to hear Phobos' theory as to why Will would do such a thing.

"There is only one explanation as to why the Keeper would suddenly want try and kill me. One I should thought of sooner and we could have avoided this whole travesty but sadly I failed to do so." Phobos started his explanation off, getting everyone's attention. The Guardians were especially attentive, wanting to know why their friend would do anything like this.

"She was kidnapped by my aunt once, correct? Well that would explain it all, my aunt may have used that time to create a…how is the best way to describe it? A split personality in the Keeper's mind, one that activated because the conditions were finally met for it to do so," Phobos explained, causing everyone to gasp in shock.

"What…do you mean by 'the conditions were finally met'?" Taranee hesitantly asked. The others also wanted to know this information and waited impatiently for the prince to explain further.

"Well there are three ways it could have activated. One, my aunt simply decided it was time and willed the split personality to take action. Two, it was supposed to come forth after a certain amount of time had passed. Finally, the third reason is that the persona came forth once a certain action happened. This action could have come to pass by the use of a simple word or if a certain event happened." Phobos said, as he explained his 'theory'.

This information floored all those present. Will had been a programmed assassin? Hay Lin and Irma refused to believe it. They knew Will too well and they seen how Susan does things. The Queen never resorted to such underhanded tactics.

'I bet Will found out something and the prince does not want anyone to know what the something was,' Irma thought to herself, as Phobos put the Heart on the table.

He had told everyone that while Will tried to escape by telatransporting away after the failed assassination, Cedric knocked the Heart from Will's grasp. But the spell still somehow completed itself and sent the red head away somewhere.

"Since the Keeper is no longer worthy of having this, one of you must take over as the Heart's Keeper," Phobos said, making Irma stand up and slam both of her hands on the table in fury. "Not worthy! You make it sound like it was the real Will who tried to kill!" Irma yelled at the prince.

Phobos put on a fake mask of regret as he responded, "At the moment the one who tried to kill me _is_ your friend, the other personality remains until either its mission is completed or is removed by its creator or by someone of equal or greater power. Since there is no one else at my aunt's level, that is not an option. Until my aunt is defeated, we cannot help the Keeper except imprison her until we have access to the means to cure her."

This made Irma even angrier and she stormed out of the room with Hay Lin following after her. This surprised no one, since Irma and Hay Lin were Will's closets friends. After a few minutes of silence, Cornelia took the Heart and slipped it around her neck. "So all we need to do is beat your aunt so Elyon gets her powers back and cure Will, right?" the blonde asked, which got a nod of confirmation from Phobos.

"Then I guess we know what do. Grab Will and put her somewhere safe where she can't hurt anyone or herself then bring down the Queen once and for all," Cornelia said, looking right at Taranee who gave a nod of agreement.

"Yeah, but we are going to need Irma and Hay Lin's help. Will might not have any powers now since we have the Heart, but I don't think Will is going to come back on her own free will and won't go down without a fight." Taranee responded.

"You're right; the other personality will do anything to make sure it completes its original mission. It will lie, run or even kill anything it sees as a threat so be very careful," Phobos instructed before looking over to Caleb.

"My friend, do you wish to assist in bringing the Keeper back? No one would blame you if chose not to, but you might make the capture as quick and painless as possible." Phobos asked the rebel leader, who had been quit since being told what had happened.

Caleb had never looked so lost before in his life, he was decimated at the news of Will being declared a traitor. After a few minutes he finally answered, "I'll go…not sure if I'll be of much help, but I'll try."

"That is all any of us can ask of you, my friend. Now I think everyone should head home and get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a rather difficult day and you all will need your strength to face the challenges it will bring." Phobos said, before biding everyone good night.

Phobos was pleased that his plan to get rid of his newly discovered cousin was going so smoothly. True the Water and Air Guardians were against him but that was not unexpected. They were a minor annoyance; they would not be able to keep the now former Keeper from his grasp, not for very long any way.

---

The next morning had been one of the worst ever for Will. Her father whipped her with the leather belt some more, and then found out her mother was calling in sick. That meant she would be home all day to regularly continue the torture.

If the woman was not whipping Will with the belt, she would literally rub salt into the wounds. Her parents seemed to have the process down to an art, just enough pain to make her suffer, but not enough do anything serious like bleed to death or pass out.

The fact that her mother actually forced small amounts food and water down her throat scared Will. If her mother was going as far to feed her while leaving her hanging in the closet meant Will knew this was to be a very long punishment.

'Please. Some one…any one, help me. Make it stop,' Will begged in her mind, as hung in the dark closet, hoping her prayers would be answered.

---

Three days later, after Cornelia and Taranee finally managed to convince Irma and Hay Lin to help them, they made plans to try and catch Will and take her back to Meridian.

"She has not come to school in the last three days; do you think the other personality is trying to avoid us?" Taranee asked, getting glares from Irma and Hay Lin. They still believed Phobos was lying about that (and every thing else for that matter) and only agreed to help find Will so they could prove it.

"Well…you guys do have her address because you hacked the school's database. Maybe we could just go to her home and corner her there," Elyon suggested. The Browns pointed out to Phobos that if they disappeared from Heatherfield, it would raise too much of a fuss, so until the school year was over with they'd hold back on moving back to Meridian.

So now both she and Caleb were staying on Earth for the time being. Phobos said he wanted a capable warrior watching over his sister, plus since he was helping capture Will it made Caleb the best choice to be the princess' bodyguard.

The other girls thought the idea over and decided it was the best option they had and planned on heading over to Will's apartment after school.

---

That afternoon, the girls and Caleb headed over to the apartment building where Will lived. The address said Will lived on the 10th floor, which was at the very top of the building.

"Well since Will does not have the Heart, there is no way she can get away all the way up there," Elyon commented as they headed for the elevator.

"Your highness you should stay down here where it is safe. If the persona in control right now attacks, it might come after you," Caleb suggested, wanting to keep the one who he thought was the true heir to the throne safe.

"One, don't call me that while we are on Earth; and two, not a chance, my aunt did this to Will, so it's my responsibility to help get her somewhere safe until we can cure her," Elyon responded, as the elevator opened up.

Caleb relented to his princess' will and got in the elevator along with the girls. Once they got to the top floor, they headed for the apartment at the farthest end of the hall and knocked on the door.

After moment they heard the door unlock and it opened up to reveal whom the group assumed was Will's mother. "Can I help you?" the woman asked, as she looked the group over.

Caleb noted that while the woman's tone seemed friendly enough, there seemed something off about her but Caleb could not put his finger on what it was exactly. While Caleb was trying figure out what was off about the woman, Cornelia asked, "We are friends of Will, Mrs. Vandom. We were worried because she has not been at school the last few days and just wanted to know if she was alright."

"Will is not feeling well at all. Hopefully she will be feeling better by Monday at the latest," Mrs. Vandom replied and looked like she was about to close the door. That was when Caleb asked, "Can we visit her?"

This made the woman stop and shake her head sadly as she replied, "I'm sorry it's a family policy that it's strictly bed rest when you're sick. No visitors, no work, or anything else. I'll let Will know you stopped by though, she will probably be glad you did."

With that, the woman closed the door and locked it once again. The group walked half way down the hall before Irma grumbled out, "Great. Now what do we do? I want to get this over with."

"We all do Irma We will give it a few days and if she is not back on Monday we will come back and check on her again," Taranee said as they approached the elevator.

Caleb still could not shake the feeling there was something wrong with that woman. It was like she was trying to hide something, but what? Caleb looked one last time at where Will lived, before entering the elevator with everyone else.

---

Will had heard Cornelia and Caleb's voices at the door and Will's hopes began to rise. Will hoped they would find her, save her! But her hopes were crushed as she heard the door close and lock again.

Then she heard the closet door swing open and Will knew what was to come. "So you told them where we live, did you? Big mistake!" Will's mother growled out, before the leather belt struck Will's back.

"You probably were hoping they would try to weasel their way in didn't you? Well looks like they can't really care about if they gave up so easily!" the woman added, as she started another series of painful strikes to Will's already brutishly assaulted back.

'She's right. No one cares about me. Not the girls, not even...Caleb. Why did I ever think any one would ever care about a worthless thing like me?' Will mentally sobbed as her punishment continued.

---

A few more days later, in the palace of the Meridian, Susan was trying to get ready for this 'Parent's Night' event at her daughter's school. She was of course using a simple glamour to alter the appearance of her clothes to make them look like Earth clothing. But since she was not entirely sure what would be proper attire for her to use, it was taking some time for her decide.

Susan did not want to over dress the part but also did not want go the opposite route ether, so she recalled how she'd seen some of the teachers dressed and decided to the use them as her example. Susan wanted to blend in after all, not stand out like a sore thumb and possibly embarrass her daughter in the process.

As Susan pictured one of teacher's choice of attire, Susan used her glamour copy it. Now instead of wearing her traditional robes, she was wearing a pair of black high-heeled shoes, black dress pants, white turtleneck sweater and a black suit jacket.

"Yes, this should do nicely," Susan, said with satisfied smile on her face. Just then she heard a knock on the door. Susan knew it was Raythor coming to tell her it was almost time to leave. "Enter."

As expected, Raythor was the one to enter. It took him a minute to get used to his Queen's new look, but he admitted it seemed to suit her. "We are as ready as we can be your highness. We have few of our less noticeable men on watch. Once they see the Vandoms or your daughter enter the building they will let us know," Raythor reported.

"Thank you Raythor. To be honest I want to see those two first, I want to know what they were thinking when they decided to take my little girl from me," Susan said, with a deadly serious tone to it.

Raythor could not help but agree with his Queen's statement. There better be a good explanation, because if there wasn't then they would have to face the Queen's wrath and if there was anything left afterwards, Raythor along with Sandpit were going to have a few words with them…then hand them over to Gargoyle.

Normally Raythor would not wish a fate like that on anyone, but if the Vandoms had harmed even a hair on the princess' head, may the spirits have mercy on their souls. Those thoughts were forced from his mind though, as Raythor followed his Queen out of her room and towards the throne room. From there, they would watch and wait for a messenger to return with the news of the Vandoms being spotted.

---

Back at the Vandom's apartment, Will was being thrown into her room. Now it was no longer just her back that had taken a beating. After finally being let down from where she had hung in the hallway closet, Will's father had slapped her face a bit as well as kick at her legs.

The once beautiful medieval dress Hay Lin had made for Will was now in shreds and torn apart piece-by-piece while her parents beat her. Now barely anything remained.

"For your sake that tiny thing you call a brain had better do a good job at school for change. If we find you got the same lousy results yet again, you're going back in the closet for another week!" Will's father growled as he slammed the bedroom door shut.

Will just whimpered in pain as she weakly curled up into a ball on the floor. She knew that there was no way she would have good enough grades to avoid another beating, she was lucky to get a C and mostly had Ds and even a few Fs most of the time.

"Please…some one...help…me" Will weakly whispered, as she finally passed out from pain and exhaustion. Unknown to Will, help would arrive this night and things, both good and bad would come from it.

---

Back at the school, the girls were all coming to Parents Night. If Will was sick, she would most likely be left at home while her parents came to school. It was the perfect time to get her, but since they needed her to come to the school with her parents that plan was not an option. Caleb was the only one who could go but even he agreed it was bad idea for him to go alone.

In theory Caleb could handle Will on his own, since he was older, bigger, stronger and a better fighter than any of the girls by far. But Caleb was also too emotionally involved for him to go up against Will alone. If Will did have another personality in control right now, one that could be very dangerous, all he had do was hesitate just once and he could be seriously hurt...if not worse.

So the girls came up with the plan that was their only hope of getting Will tonight. Caleb would keep a look out for the Vandoms; if Will was with them he would try to separate her from her parents and the girls would try and join him soon after. If she was not with them, then they would just wait until Monday and hope Will was back at school by then.

As Caleb kept a look out, he finally saw the Vandoms enter the school Gym, where they were holding all the parent-teacher meetings and had all the displays of the students' work set up.

Caleb noticed Will was nowhere in sight so that meant the plan was a bust. "I swear fate is toying with us. I want to get this stupid mission over with already. Then I can get back taking that woman down and make her remove the spell she placed on Will," Caleb grumbled under his breath.

Caleb was about go find Elyon and the Browns, but then saw Susan enter the Gym, the one person he would have never expected to be here. 'No! Why is the Queen here?! No matter, it saves me the time of finding her. I'll make her remove the other persona from Will and everything will be back to normal.' Caleb growled in his mind, as he made his towards the Queen of Meridian.

---

Susan had made her move the second the Vandoms were spotted. The plan was to make them realize she was here once they were talking to the first teacher. That way they would be cornered, they would not risk making seen in a public place and even if they did the Vandoms would know full well it would do them no good. The thing that made Susan wonder if something was wrong was when she heard Will had been nowhere in sight.

Susan did not focus on it too much though, since her main concern for the moment was dealing with her daughter's kidnappers. Or they had been until Susan saw the rebel leader heading her way.

Susan did not want a scene to happen or at least not yet any way, so Susan used a little mental suggestion on the boy. 'You don't care I'm here. You don't care I'm here. You don't care I'm here." Susan repeated in her mind as she focused those thoughts on Caleb.

---

As Caleb got closer to Susan his anger suddenly disappeared as he thought to himself, 'I don't care she is here right now. I need to get Will first so I'll deal with the Queen later.' With that Caleb went back to his original plan of finding the Browns, he would tell the Guardians and the princess that the Queen had shown up at the meeting tomorrow. It's not like it was big deal she was here after all.

---

Susan had a satisfied smirk on her face as she watched the rebel leader walk away in the opposite direction. Now that she had that little problem dealt with, Susan set her sights back following the Vandoms.

They were just sitting down in front of one of the teachers and Susan was about to make her move when she decided to hear how her daughter was doing first. After all it would help to know her daughter's current progress. So Susan decided she would wait until the meeting was done then confront the pair right after.

Susan moved off to the side where she would be out of everyone's way and used her powers over the air to hear what was being said.

"Mr. & Mrs. Vandom, I hate to tell you this but your daughter is doing very poorly in not just my class but all of them to be honest. She rarely hands in assignments and when she does, they are only two thirds done at best. I can tell she has the potential to be better but she seems to lack commitment to her studies." the teacher said to the Vandoms.

This information had shocked Susan to say the very least. Susan was not expecting a genius; she definitely was not expecting to hear her doing poorly! Will seemed like such a bright and clever girl when she was doing her duties as a Guardian and Will seemed very committed to doing her mission. So why was it not reflected in her schoolwork as well? Things were not adding up. Susan planned on getting to the bottom of this and she knew just who to see about getting the answers she desired.

Susan focused back on the conversation between Will's 'parents' and the teacher to hear how the Vandoms' response to what the teacher said. "That's sad to hear, Mr. Collins She never was a great student but we heard this school had a good reputation for helping all their students reach their potential, we thought we would finally see some improvement. We don't blame you or any other teachers of course. If Will is not finishing her work then that's her fault as well as ours for not make sure she does it." Susan heard Tony answer.

Though the tone of Tony's voice sounded convincing, the air told Susan otherwise. The man was lying about something and it filled Susan with rage. She didn't know what the man was lying about but Susan planned find out very soon.

Susan deciding on dealing with the Vandoms later. So Susan made a quick scan of Tony's mind to get an image of where the Vandoms lived then contacted Raythor who was waiting by a portal at the moment.

'Raythor change of plans. I'm getting Will then we are heading back Meridian. We can retrieve the Vandoms later,' Susan said in a telepathic message to her second in command. Before he could answer Susan closed the link and headed back into the wall way.

Once Susan was sure there was no one to see her use her magic, Susan telatransported away in flash of green light.

---

Susan appeared right inside the Vandoms' apartment. Susan noticed pieces of torn cloth in front of a closet in the hallway. It made her unsettled for some reason, but she put those thoughts from her mind as she walked the hallway towards the rooms at then end.

The first door Susan opened revealed a large room that Susan assumed belonged to the Vandom couple. The room looked like it'd been recently redecorated, because the white walls of the bed room seemed to be bit brighter than the ones in the hallway and there was rather new looking carpet as well, while the rest of the apartment had hard wood floors.

Susan left the room and headed for the smaller room next to it. As Susan opened the door, she prayed that she would find her daughter on the other side. Susan's prayers where answered but a part of her regretted that they were, when she saw her daughter's broken form curled up on the floor.

"Wilhelmina!" Susan cried as she ran over to her daughter and started checking on Will's condition.

Susan saw painful looking cuts covering Will's back; some even looked like they were starting to become infected, while her front was covered in bruises. Susan also realized where the pieces of fabric in the hall had come from. Judging from what little of clothing (if one could still call it that) was still on her daughter's body, those pieces of shredded cloth were pieces of her what her daughter was wearing right now.

Susan allowed her glamour to fade away and removed her outer robe, wrapping it around Will's battered and broken form. As Susan finished this task her hand gently brushed against Will's forehead and realized her daughter had a terrible fever. 'What have those monsters done to my little girl?!' Susan screamed in her mind, as tears started flow down her cheeks.

As Susan scooped her unconscious daughter up in her arms and stood to leave, making a silent vow to come back later and retrieve both her daughter's belongings (assuming she had any) and the two bastards who hurt her baby. Susan telatransported away so take Will back to Meridian and have the castle healers tend to Will's injuries.

---

Raythor paced back and forth in front of the portal just behind the school, waiting for his Queen to return and, hopefully, find out what made the plan change so abruptly. The tone of her telepathic message indicated that she was very angry, which worried him. He did not know what happened but he knew that if it had anything to do with the Vandom couple, then things were looking bleak...for them.

Then in the flash of light that happened after a telatransport came made the man stop in his tracks. Raythor looked over to where the light came from to see his Queen holding her daughter in her arms. He was surprised his Queen had wrapped her daughter up in her robe, leaving his Queen wearing only the white silk pants and shirt she wore underneath, but paid it no mind as he walked over to them.

"Was she asleep when you went to go get her or did she faint from the shock of the news?" Raythor asked with a grin on his face. But the grin quickly vanished when he saw his Queen was in tears and noticed bruises were covering the princess' face.

Before he could saying thing Susan answered the soon to come question, "Yes they did this to her and once Wilhelmina's wounds are taken care off, I want you to gather a squad of soldiers to retrieve the Vandom couple and any clothing and personal items that are in my daughter's old room."

Raythor looked at his Queen in shock and confusion. Why did she not want the traitors brought in this very moment? "Your highness, are you sure it's wise to leave those...people free? What if they leave the town before we can arrest them?" Raythor asked, saying the word 'people' in a way that made clear he was using the term loosely, very loosely.

"At the moment all I care about is taking Wilhelmina home. Besides, those two won't even know I was the one who took her, they probably think she ran away so they won't run. Now let's go," Susan said, as she started to head towards the portal, with Raythor following closely behind. As they walked through the portal closed behind them.

---

The two exited the portal and were back in the throne room. Several guards and servants were present, many of the guards were ready with shackles and chains since they had been expecting prisoners, the servants on the other hand had been told to expect a special guest of the Queen's. Susan wanted to wait a bit before making her daughter's true identity public.

Both the servants and the guards moved close since neither knew which was the group was needed but Susan quickly solved that issue as she yelled, "Get a healer in here quick! My...guest is terribly injured and is running a fever!"

Before anyone could respond to their Queen's command, a voice called out. "Good thing I'm here then."

Everyone looked over to where the entrance to the throne room was and saw Lucia walking in. She quickly made her way over to Susan and saw who the Queen was holding in her arms and breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness you have her. I was worried the other Guardians would get to her first," Lucia said as she gently pried Will's form from Susan arms.

"Lucia why are you not with the..." Susan started to ask but was cut of by the healer. "After hearing Phobos accuse the Keeper of being a traitor and saying you tried to have her assassinate him, I decided to stop being one of Vathek's contacts and rejoin your staff as well as alert you of the accusations. Of course since you already went to get the Keeper, I guess you know all that already"

"I-I didn't know that...I'll explain why I went to go get her later. Right now I need you to look after her while I take care of some things, the servants will take you to the room I had prepared for her." Susan explained to Lucia, who nodded her head in acceptance and followed the servants out of the throne room.

Susan then turned to the guards who were present and said, "You won't be needed for now but be ready in case Raythor calls on you later." After issuing those orders, the guards saluted and left leaving only Susan and Raythor in the throne room.

After a moment of silence Raythor finally said, "I'll go and arrange some guards to watch over your daughter's room, the news about Phobos' accusations worries me." Just as Raythor turned to leave though, a strange purple portal started to open.

This had Raythor drawing his sword and Susan hands started crackle with electricity as they prepared for the possibility that something may come through. What did come through the portal was someone who was completely unexpected and unwelcome on Meridian, the Oracle of Candracar himself.

---

AN: Well, now the interesting stuff will begin, I got a lot of surprises in store for the upcoming chapters.


	10. Explanations and Truths

Chapter 10 is finally here and it's got some great stuff you all have been waiting for.

But before we begin I would like to thanks Knight for betaing this story and would like to thank Wilhelmina Vandom, Mirai No Dinurs, Lisifa, and Diamond-baby94 for reviewing.

Disclaimer: Don't own W.I.T.C.H. we would have third season by now if I did or at least still have it on the bloody air! (You hear that Family Channel! Put my show back on! Either that or put out some DVDs out in Canada already!) Okay enough with my ranting, on with the chapter!

---

Chapter 10: Explanations and Truths

There was moment of silence as both Queen Susan and Raythor glared hatefully at the Oracle, who had appeared in the throne room by the use of a strange purple portal. The Oracle had not said a thing since he arrived and seemed to be waiting patiently for something.

Raythor, not caring what that could be, charged forward in a rage, his sword raised to strike. "You dare show your face here after every thing you've done!" the powerful warrior roared as he tried to strike the Oracle down with a single blow.

But just as Raythor brought his sword down to strike at the Oracle, his blade struck an invisible barrier that surrounded the ruler of Candracar. The barrier then seemed to absorb the force of the blow and sent it back at Raythor in the form of an energy wave that sent the warrior flaying back.

"Raythor!" Susan screamed, as her second in command's body slid across floor and stopped right next to her. Susan had to breathe a sigh of relief when she heard him groan and watched him slowly get back to his feet.

"I'm alright, your highness. A little sore but other than that I'm alright," Raythor groaned out as he made himself stand up right, using his sword to steady himself. As he got ready to charge again, Susan signalled Raythor to stop.

"That will do no good Raythor; let's find out why the Oracle is here first," Susan instructed, as she glared at the Oracle and her hands once again crackled with electricity. This made it very clear that if the Oracle did not have a good reason to be on Meridian, the Queen would make sure the man left very quickly.

The Oracle calmly held his hands in front of him, signalling he was no threat as he spoke, "I have simply come to clarify the council's motives, retrieve that last of the former Keeper's powers and provide at least some minor compensation for services rendered by your daughter."

The electricity in Susan's hands dissipated, but her face remained hard and cold. She would not lower her guard until this man left her world. "You have a lot to answer for, Oracle. You chose my daughter to be the Keeper of the Heart, allowed her to suffer under the torment of those monsters for years and did not do a thing to help her from what I can tell. There better a good explanation for all this," Susan demanded, anger clearly evident in her tone and expression.

The Oracle remained unfazed by the Queen's anger, at least on the surface anyway. Deep down, he was a bit worried, since if a fight did break out between him and the Queen, things would get ugly really fast.

It was not a matter of if the Oracle could win the fight; it was a matter of how much of the castle would be left standing after the battle was over. The Oracle was one of the few beings alive that could match the Queen of Meridian's power, but being a man who preferred peaceful solutions over force of arms, he did not wish to fight anyone. Plus he did not want to fight a very angry mother; only a fool would try to do that.

"You and I both know that I alone do not choose the Guardians, especially the Keeper of the Heart. The Heart and the Aurameres had searched for a long time to find a complete set of Guardians and your daughter was the one the Heart chose to complete the current group. I was tempted to force the Heart to choose another, but then realized it would not only help Candracar deal with Phobos, but also keep you daughter safe from his sights until you found her." Oracle explained.

"If you knew it was my nephew who started this war, why did you not say so or at least tell the Guardians who it was, instead of giving them the mission of finding out the hard way?!" Susan growled out, already starting losing what little patience she had with the Oracle.

"Candracar knows many things that could solve a great deal of problems in the universe, but as you know full well if we did that then all worlds in existence would just turn to us for an easy answer, instead of facing the challenge themselves. Of course we could not just sit idly by while your world was torn apart by this war, so by leaving the Guardians ignorant of the real culprit we hoped they could help you but at the same time allow you to solve your problems on your own," The Oracle responded, hoping that answer would satisfy the Queen.

Susan, though still furious with the Oracle, understood what he meant. She just hated how the Council of Candracar had to be so darn cryptic! As Susan marched away she barked out, "I'll escort you to Wilhelmina's room, get what you came for and leave!"

---

Lucia was surprised to say the least by the accommodations the Queen had prepared for Will. True the healer would be less surprised if she knew she was actually tending to the Queen's daughter, but that obviously not the case.

The room was spacious; red tapestries lined the walls and a large pair of window-like doors led to a balcony that overlooked the royal gardens below. There where three pieces of furniture in the in the room: a large dresser, a desk with a large mirror and a Queen-sized four post bed.

'It's a room fit for royalty. If this is how the Queen is going to treat a guest, how is she going to treat her daughter when she is found?' Lucia thought to herself as she and the servants finished treating Will's injuries and were now slipping the still unconscious girl into a white silk nightgown.

As they were tucking Will under the blanket and silk sheets, Lucia heard a knock at the door. Lucia walked over to the door and opened it to reveal the queen, Raythor and a bald man she did not recognized. Lucia could tell though the man was not well liked by the other two, that was for sure.

"Lucia, how is she doing and can we see her?" Queen Susan asked, a look of concern and sadness replacing the look of anger that was on it a moment ago. Lucia gave a nod of her head and moved out of the way to allow every one to enter.

"The Keeper is going to be alright, with enough rest she will be back on her feet in no time. The fever worries me though; it seems to be something more then a simple illness, more like some kind of magic. Of course my knowledge of that sort of thing is somewhat limited but I'm certain that the fever is not natural," Lucia explained as the group of three entered the room.

The Oracle went over to Will's bedside. He raised his hand over her and it started glow with white light. Slowly, pink energy started flowing out of Will and into the Oracle's glowing hand. By the time it was over he had a small orb of pink energy in his in palm. "That should do it. Now one last thing and I'll be done," The Oracle said and with his other hand and sent a gentle wave of white energy over Will.

Once that task was completed he turned to Susan and waved his hand. A small brown bag along with a letter appears in front of the Queen. Susan grabbed on to and looked to the Oracle for an explanation of what the items are.

"The compensation I spoke of, it they won't be of much use just yet, but I'm sure you'll know what to do with them when the time arrives. I also alerted the seal on the former Keeper's powers, it will break down more smoothly and the fever will fade as it does. To make the process easier on her I placed her in a Healing Sleep until she is well again," The Oracle explained and started to leave the room.

As he did, Susan said, "Raythor, escort the Oracle back to his portal, and then go gather the men you will need for retrieving the Vandoms, bring Sandpit with you when you go."

Raythor bowed his head in response and left with the Oracle, while Lucia's jaw dropped at hearing the man's name. "That was…why was he here and what did he do?" Lucia asked in shock.

Susan held her hand up to signal the healer to wait and then looked at the three servants present. "Please leave us, I need to speak with Lucia in private," The Queen ordered and the three women left after giving their Queen a quick bow.

Once they were gone, Susan used her powers of the air to create a barrier to make sure no one could overhear the long explanation that was to come. After that task was complete, Susan looked at Lucia and said, "You may want to sit down Lucia. There is much to explain."

---

Back on Earth, every one was at the Silver Dragon, under the pretense of having some dinner after they were finished with Parent's Night. It was a good thing they were all in the basement when Caleb told them he saw Queen Susan in the gym because the other girls freaked.

"Why did you wait until now to tell us she had been there?!" Cornelia yelled at the rebel leader in a rage. Cornelia along with rest of what remained of W.I.T.C.H. and Elyon were all a bit upset with Caleb at the moment.

"I-I don't know! For some reason when she looked right at me I suddenly lost interest she was even there!" Caleb said in his defense. Even he was angry with himself for waiting until now to tell the girls anything.

After a moment of thinking over what Caleb said, Elyon spoke up. "Well my aunt does have a lot of powers and you guy did say you once heard her say she has the power to read minds. Perhaps she can influence them as well so it's not really Caleb's fault he did not tell us sooner," Elyon explained, as she told every one her theory.

This seemed to take some of the pressure off Caleb, much to said rebel leader's relief. But this did not solve the other problem they had, why was Susan at the school to begin with?

"She has to be after Will. That's the only thing I can think of that would explain why the Queen would bother coming to Earth, but for what reason does she want Will now? She already has Will under her control." Caleb asked aloud making everyone think it over, until Cornelia spoke up again.

"I think we should go get Will, even if it means we have to expose our secret. If we don't get Will fast, the Queen might take her back to Meridian and do who knows what to her," This had everyone in agreement and they got up to headed for the Vandom apartment.

---

At the Vandom apartment, Tony and Serena had just gotten back and were heading for Will's room. "Alright you good for nothing brat! I hope you're ready to go back in the closet because you're going back in for another week!" Tony yelled as he headed for his 'daughter's' room.

Tony did not pay attention to the fact that the door was already wide open as he stormed in and found nothing. As he came back he growled out, "She is not in there!"

Serena quickly went into their room to see if the red head was hiding while Tony went out into the front room and kitchen to check them as well. "Where is that good for nothing brat?!" the man demanded as his wife came out of their room.

"I don't know, maybe she finally tried running away. What should we do? Call the police or just abandon the worthless thing and get out of town before someone finds her?" Serna asked, only caring because they could not afford to loose the girl. Afterall, somebody had to pay for the crimes its mother committed over the last thirteen years and since the older one would probably be put to death the daughter would have to suffer in the 'Queen's' place.

"Neither, we go out and track the brat down ourselves. Then we break her legs so she learns not to run away again!" Tony exclaimed as he started to leave. Just as Tony made it into the hallway though, he hears a strange sound behind him, followed by his wife stuttering out in horror, "T-T-Tony!"

Tony turns around to see portal just finishing opening up, striking fear into his heart as well. "Serena...run!" Tony yelled, but it was too late.

Just as the couple turned to flee Sandpit dove through the portal as a mass of sand and wrapped around the Vandoms before they could move an inch. The only part of their bodies still visible to Raythor as he came through the portal was their heads. The Queen's second in command was tempted to order Sandpit to engulf even those parts and let them suffocate to death but knew better, his Queen would want to...talk to them before anyone else dealt with them.

As Raythor glared at the two kidnappers, the twelve men he had chosen for the mission came through portal, making him turn his focus to them for a moment. "You four, go grab the Keeper's belongings, the rest of you bind them!" Raythor ordered.

The first four guards headed off towards Will's old room while the other guards who were carrying shackles and chains, advanced on the Vandom couple, who were still frozen in fear as they were grabbed by the guards.

---

Meanwhile, the girls and Caleb were fast approaching the Vandoms' apartment hoping they were not too late. Just as they reached the door, Caleb heard an all too familiar voice growl out, "You thought you could get away with it, didn't you? Well guess again!"

"That was Raythor's voice!" Caleb growled and kicked the door in. The first thing they saw was the Vandoms, being dragged towards a portal with several guards holding them at sword point.

The guards and the Vandoms stopped moving the second they heard the door burst open and looked over to the group that had just came in. Sandpit was the first to act and moved to block the path so the Guardians, Caleb and Elyon could not in interfere with the arrest.

Once Sandpit had blocked the only way into the room, Raythor spoke out, "I'm sorry, but if you wish to speak with these…people you'll have to wait your turn. Not that there will be much left after her highness is done with them of course."

"The Vandoms are not going anywhere, Raythor! Guardians Unite!" Cornelia declared, and got out the Heart of Candracar and tried to transform the other Guardians and herself.

The Heart started to glow brightly for a few seconds but it then died down leaving the girls still very human and almost powerless. "Um…okay, when we get Will back, she is giving us a crash course on how changing the batteries in that thing!" Irma said sarcastically, as the others looked at the crystal in shock.

---

Raythor let out a silent breath of relief, knowing that at least for the moment the Guardians were of no threat. That would leave Princess Wilhelmina time to both recover from her injuries and adjust to the changes in her life before confronting her friends again…hopefully.

Just then the four guards returned and only two returned with anything in hand. "Sir, there was hardly anything in there. Just a few clothes and some things we found in the closet, that's all," one of the guards reported, while the two holding something like the sack that each carried to prove the other guard's report.

"It's more then the brat deserves," Tony grumbled under his breath, finally recovering from the shock and fear of what just happened. Unfortunately for Tony though, Raythor and the other guards heard what he said and all had their weapons pointed at his throat.

"If I were you, I would remain silent or you will loose the ability to speak…permanently," Raythor said in cold tone.

After Raythor was sure Tony would keep his mouth shut gave the final order to the guards. "We have what we came for so we are to head back. Sandpit, watch our backs until we are all through, we don't want the Guardians following us."

With that, all the guards started filing through the portal; after everyone was safely through, Sandpit backed away slowly so to hold the Guardians back in case they tried anything.

The girls could do nothing though; with only minimal power they stood no chance against the regular guards let alone Raythor and Sandpit. As they watched the last of the Queen's followers slip through portal, it closed behind them - cutting off any possible pursuit.

Caleb punched the wall in anger thinking he had failed Will by not being able to save her or her parents, while the rest of the Guardians felt like they let their friend down by not being able even try and fight.

"We…we need to head for the Infinite City tomorrow. Phobos will need to know what happened and maybe he can figure out why the Heart could not transform you as well," Elyon suggested as she tried to hold back her tears. Elyon more the any thought she had failed everyone, since she thought she had allowed Meridian's greatest enemy to get hold of both Will and her family.

Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement and slowly left the apartment and back to their respective homes with sadness and regret in their hearts.

---

Back on Meridian, the Vandoms stood before a furious Susan who sat on her throne glaring down on the two who were shaking in fear. They knew full well how powerful the Queen was and knew that if she wanted to could unleash it upon them at a moment's notice.

"Before I deal with these two, Raythor, I want to be sure if we can trust these men with the knowledge they are about to hear," Susan said in a cold tone that only filled the Vandoms with greater terror.

"I assure you, your highness, these men are completely trustworthy. I picked them to not only to retrieve these two but to also stand guard over her as well," Raythor responded. He avoided to address the princess in any manner, not wanting to reveal the secret just yet. He wanted that honor to be the Queen's.

Susan nodded her head in acceptance to this and then fixed her gaze back on the Vandoms. "I going to make this quick, because I have more important matters to attended to than dealing with you. I want to know why you took my daughter from me, then for who knows how long thought you had the right harm her!" Susan roared in a furry.

The guards present were shocked to hear that, though only for short time, had taken arms up against their princess. The twelve guards had all been part of the battle in the dungeon a few months back and were now very glad they had not been able to fight the Guardians that day.

While the guards recovered from the shock, the Vandoms were answering the Queen's demand and they had regained some of their defiance. This was proven when Tony yelled back, "You brought it on her yourself! You expect killing your own sister to have no consequences!"

"That's right! Someone had to pay for your crimes and since you refused to, that thing you call a daughter paid in your place!" Serena added..

This caused a flurry of outraged responses from all those present. Raythor and the guards had redrawn their weapons and Sandpit and Gargoyle were advancing on the two Vandoms. They were all prepared to tear the two limb from limb, and then feed the remains to Gargoyle, but Susan intervened.

"STOP!" Susan roared making gusts wind and sounds of thunder fill the room. This made the Queen's loyal followers stop in their tracks and destroyed the Vandoms' newfound bravado.

Susan then stood up and made her way down to the throne room floor, jolts of electricity radiating from her with each step she took. As she reached them, Susan unleashed a blast of lighting at them, making the two kidnappers drop to their knees in pain.

After a few moments of putting them through this agonizing torture, Susan forced herself to stop. She desired the satisfaction of making the Vandoms pay for what they had done, but at the same time knew she could not let herself sink to that level or she would become the monster the rebels falsely accused her of being.

"You're lucky I can't kill you, because if I did I would only make you right about me and I refuse to give you that satisfaction." Susan growled at the pair, who were still on the ground in a great deal of pain from the Queen's attacks.

Susan then turned to Raythor and said, "Take them to the underwater mines. I never want to see them nor have them near my daughter ever again. I'm certain that place will ensure that and the labour should teach them their lesson quite nicely."

Raythor could not help but agree, plus despite being a prison, there were many…residents who would probably make the two pay for their crimes as well. There many rebels there and they might help the couple, but there were also many who others who were regular criminals serving their time. Those criminals would be less then happy with the Vandoms, especially since harming a child was a serious crime on Meridian.

"I'll make the arrangements right away, your highness, by this time tomorrow they will be getting…acquainted with their new home," Raythor responded, and then he and the guards left so to secure the Vandoms in the palace dungeon until they could have them sent to the mines.

As Susan watched the Vandoms get taken away, she silently prayed that karma would strike when those two entered the mines. It would be the closest thing to revenge the queen would get but it would have to do.

---

The next day in the Infinite City, the Guardians had come to tell Prince Phobos what had happened last night. While Phobos wore a mask of sympathy and concern towards the girls' plight, in reality he was outraged. The Guardians were absolutely useless to him if they could not transform!

"This news is most troubling. With the loss of the Keeper to my aunt and your inability to transform and gain your full power, we are at a serious disadvantage. All we can do now is hope that, either we find a way to get the Heart to work or an opportunity to save the Keeper presents itself soon." Phobos said with a sad and worried expression on his face.

This was not what the Guardians wanted to hear and were now feeling even more helpless than ever. "So we…just sit back and do nothing?" Hay Lin said through her tears. Both she and Irma were starting to believe Queen Susan was the real enemy after all that happened last night, they still had their doubts but their faith was shaken after the Vandoms' abduction.

"I'm afraid so, Air Guardian, I think it's best you all head home for now and…" Phobos started to say when a purple portal opened up in the room. This had all the warriors and Guardians standing ready in case something happened.

Shortly after the portal stabilized, the Oracle made his second appearance. He personally wished he could expose the prince right here and now, but that would go against Candracar's way, so he would have to just hope the evil prince made a mistake that made the Guardians realize the truth.

"Who are you and how did find this place!" Caleb demanded, as he went to draw his sword but was stopped by a signal from Phobos. "It's alright, Caleb. He is not here to do battle, it is not the Oracle's or the council's way," Phobos explained, making those who knew of the Oracle instantly lower their guard, much to Elyon's and the Guardians' confusion.

"Oracle? Council? What are you talking about?!" Irma demanded, while the other girls waited for a response to the question.

"Patience, Water Guardian, all will be explained in due time," Oracle answered for Phobos, giving Irma a serene smile that seemed to calm her desire for answers.

The Oracle then turned to Phobos and said, "My apologizes for coming unannounced, but with the Keeper of the Heart now having new…responsibilities, Council thought it best to have her step down from her post and I had come to inform the remaining Guardians of this devolvement."

"You mean Will is not a Guardian anymore!? Why!?" Hay Lin practically screamed with tears starting to swell up in her eyes. The other Guardians as well as Elyon also looked angered and saddened by this news.

Caleb on the hand looked furious, he wanted to know what the Queen had done that made the Oracle decide that he needed to strip Will of her powers and status as a Guardian. "Oracle, with all due respect…you better have a good explanation of what you have done," Caleb stated in a cold tone that sent shivers down everyone's spine. The only one visibly unaffected by this was the Oracle himself, but only because his position demanded he have certain level of control over his emotions at all times.

After taking a moment to reassure he could maintain his composure, the Oracle answered Caleb's demand. "While I can only allow time to answer your question Caleb, I assure you the answer will come soon. Telling you now would only cause…certain members of the rebellion to act rather rashly, something I am sure the former Keeper would not approve."

The Oracle had made it clear he was referring to Caleb and it looked like said rebel was about to do something stupid, mainly attack the Oracle, so Aldarn and Drake promptly grabbed him before Caleb could act.

While Caleb tried to pull free of his two friends' grasp, the Oracle turned back to the Guardians. "Since there is no replacement for the Keeper or any of you for that matter, the council has decided to take an unusual course of action to assist you," The Oracle explained as he held out his hand towards Cornelia.

The Earth Guardian instinctively knew he was gesturing for the Heart and handed it to the Oracle. The Oracle's hand start to glow and the Heart responded to and gently unleash four pink rays of light towards each of the Guardians.

The rays hit each Guardian in the chest, right where there heart would be and they then felt a surge of energy flow through them making them glow pink for moment. After the light dissipated, the Oracle handed the Heart back to Cornelia and explained what happened.

"I have just diverted the raw mystic energy that normally would transfer the Keeper's power to each of you. You will not gain any of the Keeper's powers but your own powers will be a bit stronger now, since the energy was divided equally amongst you all," The Oracle told the Guardians.

"Does this mean we can transform again?" Taranee asked, hoping that if they could transform they could save Will and her parents.

The Oracle gave the Fire Guardian a sad smile as he replied, "Yes the Heart will transform you once again, but I'm afraid both you and the rebellion will have to wait for Queen Susan to make her next move before you do anything."

"B-b-but why? If we wait too long who knows what my aunt will do to Will and her parents!" Elyon stuttered out in shock. Elyon could not think of a reason why this man would suggest such a thing but waited for his answer before judging him.

"I don't think you'll be too worried about them, once Queen Susan makes her reasons clear. For now it's best you wait. You have been through much and need the time rest and recover from the recent events and prepare for the future ones," The Oracle explained, and then headed back towards the purple portal.

After the Oracle had left, Cornelia took out the Heart and said, "Guardians Unite!" With those two words the Heart lit up and once again transformed the girls into their Guardian forms.

Once the light receded they were once again in their transformed state, which made the girls very relieved. "Well I say that little test was a success," Cornelia said proudly, before changing everyone back to their human forms.

After the second flash of pink light from the heart was gone, Irma asked, "So now what do we do? The bald guy with tattoos on his head said we should stay put. What are we supposed to do until Queen Susan makes her move?"

Elyon was the first to answer Irma's question. "We get some more firepower," Elyon stated then turned to her brother and asked, "Do I have access to even a little magic? We are going to need everything we got to bring our aunt down."

Phobos contemplated on how to answer his sister's question. It was true he did not want his sister to get too much power or she might become a threat to his plans, but with Elyon taking part in the actual battles, it would increase the morale of the rebels while weakening his aunt's forces.

It was a gamble but it was just too tempting to pass up, so Phobos answered, "Yes. You do have some magic still at your disposal. I'm sure our aunt only sought to strip you of the magic related to being the Heart, so she let you keep the magic you were born with. It is only enough to make you equal to a normal Guardian in terms of power but it's still a lot."

This confused the rebels, Elyon and the Guardians who were trying to figure out what Phobos meant by Elyon being equal to a normal Guardian. "What are you saying exactly? That our powers are not at as good as past ones or something?" Taranee asked.

Phobos nodded his head, with a grave look on his face as he replied, "Unfortunately that is exactly what I'm saying. I did not wish to tell you this, but with my sister joining the battle I think its time I did so, so Elyon knows what to expect if and when she confronts our aunt."

Phobos gestured for everyone to sit down once again, since this was going to be a long explanation. Phobos then called on a small bit of his stored up energy reserves to provide some minor visual aids to help things along.

Normally Phobos did not like wasting his extremely limited reserves on such a task, but he wanted to make this explanation as easy and quick as possible so he opted to make an exception in this case.

Phobos' finger started to glow blue and he then started drawing a half circle, a whole circle and another whole circle that was twice the size of the first one. After Phobos completed this task he began to explain what these shapes meant.

"The half circle resents your current power limits, Guardians. Due to the Veil, you're at only at half your real strength. This is because the Council of Candracar most likely diverted a portion of the power of the Aurameres to help create the Veil. The Aurameres are your real source of magic, the Heart is merely the way you call on their power to attain your Guardian forms and summon your full power," Phobos explained to those present.

This news floored everyone, especially Guardians. They had been fighting all this time and were at only half of their real strength! Taranee then looked at each shape and realized what the last two meant.

The smaller whole circle represented the power of a single Heart, the power they would have normally if not for the Veil, while the larger circle represented the Queen's power. Taranee remembered the Queen once saying she had power equal to two Hearts. This made the Fire Guardian come to one very simple conclusion. "But that means even with Elyon's help we can't match the Queen's power. So how do we even the odds?" Taranee asked Phobos, hoping he had a plan.

"It is actually very simple, in theory any way. All you five have to do is follow the rebellion's example and do hit and run tactics until I can either gather enough life force to defeat my aunt or we find a another source of power. Now I suggest you all head home, but come back in two weeks time, I should have the preparations to awaken Elyon's power by then,' Phobos said, ending the meeting.

After the girls and rebels left, Phobos turned to Cedric and said, "Go see if you can have a few castle guards captured or at least some wild beasts. Awakening my sister's powers is going to take a bit of energy and I don't want to loose too much of my reserves doing so."

With an evil smile, Cedric bowed and left to go gather what the Prince requested. He always did enjoy a good hunt.

---

Three days after the capture of the Vandoms, Will still laid asleep in her new room. The Healing Sleep that the Oracle had placed Will in was doing an excellent job of healing the red head's wounds, even past scars were fading away.

Lucia had been keeping a close eye on Will's recovery and was certain the princess would be waking any day now. The healer had been right because around noon on this day, Will let out a small moan as she started to come to.

She was only partially awake and had yet to even open her eyes while she cuddled the warm blanket, silky sheets and soft pillow. "Please don't let me wake up, I like this dream," Will mumbled sleepily.

After a few minutes, Will finally opened her eyes, fully ready to find herself probably laying on her bedroom floor or hanging in the closet and allowing this wonderful dream to vanish.

Once Will's eyes opened up and found she was not in dream, she quickly sat up and looked around surprised where she was and what she was wearing. Will was so confused at her current predicament, that she did not hear the door to the room and see Lucia enter. The healer was glad to see the red headed girl awake. Lucia knew the Queen was eagerly and nervously waiting for the time tell the child the news of her true heritage.

"I'm glad to see you're finally awake, my dear. You have had us all quite worried with that fever of yours," Lucia said, which made Will jump at the sudden noise and had the old woman chuckling at the princess' expense.

"L-Lucia? Where are we? How did I get here? The last thing I remember, I…" Will started to sputter out, but Lucia's hand signalled the red head to stop.

"Calm down your…Will. You're in the Meridian palace, you were brought here when her highness, Queen Susan found out about your… parents' child raising methods. From what I heard, you'll never have to worry about them ever again," Lucian explained, hoping to calm the princess down.

Lucia had mentally scolded herself though, since she almost addressed Will as your highness, which would have made the Queen a bit upset. Susan wanted to explain everything to her daughter herself, so everyone who knew the princess' secret had to keep their mouths shut until then.

"You mean…Queen Susan saved me?" Will asked, as Lucia came over and gently pushed Will back down and tucked her in again. "Yes. Her highness was most upset at finding out how they treated you. Personally, I think they got off easy with only a single blast of lighting and being sentenced to life in the underwater mines, but at least they can't hurt you anymore," Lucia answered.

Will looked stunned at this news, her parents had been arrested and the queen even hurt them for what they had done. Why would Queen Susan even care what happened to her anyway? The Queen should be furious with her since she practically handed Meridian to Phobos on a silver platter.

"So what happens to me now?" Will asked; starting to feel a bit scared. If she went back to Earth, some one was going to find out her parents were missing and Will knew that meant she would put in a home or an orphanage.

Even if she could avoid that problem, there were her friends to worry about as well. What if Phobos had completely turned them against her? That would mean she could live with them and the rebels defiantly not an option because they would be against her as well.

Lucia gave Will a sad smile, knowing the young one had many things to worry about right now. Lucia knew it was good thing that the princess was going to find out about her true family very soon, the child was going to need all the support she could get.

"Well I should go inform her highness you are awake. I'm certain she will be paying a visit some time today and will be able to answer your question better then I can," the old healer answered, then headed for the door, leaving Will to thoughts of thinking she was completetly alone in the world now.

If only the red head knew how wrong she was.

---

Lucia made her way down the castle corridors towards the throne room. As she got with in sight of the twin doors that lead to where she was going, the two guards present immediately began opening them. They had orders to allow Lucia to enter immediately, unless an important meeting was being held.

"Lucia, what brings you here? Does this mean she is…" Susan started to ask the second she saw woman enter the chamber, with a hopeful look on her face, but stopped mid sentence when she saw Lucia giving her a nod with a smile on her face.

"Oh thank goodness!" Susan said, as she let a happy sigh. Susan glad hear her little girl had finally woken up. Susan kept hoping every time the aging healer had come to report to her it would to say that Wilhelmina awaken. Now all that was left, was arrange to time for this evening to talk to her daughter in private. This was of course assuming Lucia believed Wilhelmina was well enough to be out of bed of course.

"Lucia is my daughter confined to her bed or can she join me for dinner this evening?" Susan asked, hoping the healer did not think Wilhelmina needed more rest. The Queen wanted to have nice quiet evening with daughter, in a relaxed setting and tell her daughter the truth about herself.

"I don't see why she can't join you tonight…do you wish for me arrange some servants to get her ready in a few hours?" Lucia asked, knowing the Queen would probably be planning a special night.

Susan gave the healer a small nod of her head as she responds, "Yes please do. I'll have something…special sent up for her to wear. I'm sure she will love it, despite being a bit of a tomboy."

---

Back in her room, Will was once again curled up in the blankets and sheets trying to get her mind off her worries. But no matter how hard she tried she could not stop thinking of what her future would be.

Would she be sent back to Earth soon and eventually be placed in the system, hoping some one would adopt her? Would she get lucky and one of her friends would still believe in her enough to convince their family to take Will in? Maybe she would be really lucky and the Queen will offer her a job somewhere in the castle.

'That would be unlikely, Queen Susan will probably send me back through the next portal the second she gets down to it,' Will thinks sadly to herself as she burried her head under the covers.

Will must have fallen asleep again, because later she felt some gently shaking her and heard a soft voice say, "My Lady, you need to wake up."

Will slowly pulled herself out from under the covers to see four women in the room, each holding what looked like bathing supplies or at least the Meridian equivalent of them.

"Healer Lucia instructed us to help you get cleaned up. From what we were told, the Queen has scheduled an audience with you for this evening so we best get you ready right away," the woman who woke Will explained.

Before Will could respond, the four women gently got the still confused red head out of the bed and lead her down the hall. They eventually came to a room that looked similar to a hot spring and once inside and the door was closed, the four servants gently removed Will's nightgown and helped her into the hot water.

Will blushed a little at being naked in front other people and it did not help that foursome made sure to give the poor girl a good scrub down. By the time they were done, Will was glad to be clean again after not being able to wash up for so long, was also glad she could escape the rather rough scrubbing of the four women. Not that Will could blame them for being so rough, being locked in a closet for a week and then being asleep for three days, anyone would a bit filthy.

The servants then covered Will with a bathrobe and wrapped a towel around her still drying hair, before heading back towards Will's room. Once there Will was surprised to see her dress was there, laid out on the bed, waiting for her.

'But my parents destroyed it while they were punishing me. How did anyone here manage to repair it?' Will thought in shock, as she moved over to touch the dress only find out it was made of different material than she remembered. It was it made of…silk?

'It's not my old dress; it's a new one that looks just like it!' Will once again thought in shock. Will was snapped out of her thoughts when one of the servants said, "My Lady, we should finish up getting you ready. Dinner should be ready in another half hour."

The word dinner made Will's stomach rumble, causing her to blush in embarrassment. The servants just giggled at this and helped Will into the dress and gave her hair a quick brushing before leading the now fully prepared red head back into the castle corridors.

---

In a small private dining room, Susan waited patiently for her daughter to arrive. This room was where Susan liked to hold small private meals with individual nobles, who had come to discuss minor business concerning the kingdom.

It made the ideal place for Susan to sit Will down and have tell her everything. The room provided complete privacy and that was just what Wilhelmina needed, since Susan knew there could several reactions to the news, some of them rather loud and possibly violent.

Susan did not think Will was would do somthing that extreme, but it was still a possibility Susan had to consider just in case. As Susan once again contemplated her daughter's other possible reactions, there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Susan answered, knowing it must be her daughter. As Will entered the room, Susan noted the red head was looking a bit scared and nervous which Susan had been expecting since Lucia had warned the Queen of her daughter's concerns.

"G-good evening y-your highness" Will greeted the Queen, clearly a little uncomfortable at the moment. Will was nervous for several reasons. One being the fact she failed the Queen in find proof of Phobos' guilt. The second was the fact she almost killed the Queen back in the last battle, when she punched through the Queen's barrier. The third and final reason for Will's discomfort was just the plain simple fact she was having dinner with a Queen who wouldn't be nervous at that!

Susan just gave Will a kind smile and said, "No need to be so formal Will, please come sit down dinner should be here any minute now." Will could not help but feel a bit relaxed by the Queen's gentle tone.

Will then went over to a seat that Susan gestured to at a small round table with white cloth covering. Two lit candles where at the center of the table helped to provide a bit more light, since the only other source came from a fire place on the other side of the room.

They were just sitting down when a servant brought in two bowls of a steaming substance. When they were placed down, Will found it was some kind of creamy soup with what Will assumed were Meridian's equivalent to mushrooms. After the bowls were placed down in front to Will and Susan, the servant poured some red liquid into two silver goblets and placed them placed next to each bowl.

As the servant left, Susan explained it was just fruit juice, since Will seemed to be reluctant to reach for the goblet ever since it was put down. Will let out a sigh of relief thinking it had been wine or something, which Susan giggled at.

The two ate in silence, which Will for some reason enjoyed. She did want to know what be in store for her, now that her parents had been arrested, but the longer the Queen put off telling her the better. Will did not think it was possible anything good could be in store for her, so she was not in a complete rush to find out just yet.

Just as they finished their soup, a tray was wheeled in, carrying two large plates that had a large slice of Meridian's version of prime rib, something similar to green beans and mashed potatoes.

Will was confused at first as to why there was more food being brought, but was secretly glad there was more being brought in. She was still very hungry not surprising since the last 'meal' she ate was when her mother stuffed some scraps down her throat while Will was still in the closet.

Susan could tell Will was enjoying the meal do to the fast but still reasonable pace she was eating at. Susan was pleased to see this since her daughter looked much thinner then she remembered her being when in her normal human form.

'Or has she always been that way and did not notice it until after I saved her and saw her almost naked? She did seem to always wear shirts with long sleeves and sweaters and liked to keep her jacket on when ever possible," Susan thought sadly (and a bit angrily) at her oversight. The poor girl before her had been suffering for so long and it took finding out Will was her daughter to even see it

Once they were finished with the main course, Susan stood up and gestured over to the fireplace, where there were two very comfortable looking chairs and a coffee table in front of it.

"Lets move over to the fire, you must have many questions and I have a feeling it will take a while to explain everything so we might want to get comfortable," Susan suggested, and got a hesitant nod of acceptance from Will.

Susan could tell Will had relaxed significantly during the meal, but it would seem her daughter was still somewhat afraid. The older woman could not blame the red head for being a bit scared though, after everything Will had been through it would be completely natural to be frightened.

Once they sat down in their respective chairs, Susan awaited Will's first question. It took a while for Will to summon up the courage though, since Will was not sure where to start. Eventually Will finally chose a topic, one she wanted to get out of the way as soon as possible.

"Uh…I'm not sure if you know much about this, but…about ten days ago something happened. I overheard Phobos talking with his warriors and he caught me and was wondering if…" Will started to say before Susan cut her off.

"That if I know what Phobos did to turn your friends and the rebels against you?" Susan finished for Will, startling the red head since she had not expecting the Queen to do so. From what Will could tell, it would seem the Queen as uncomfortable with that subject as she was.

"Y-yes," Will responded, getting feeling the news was going to be worse then she had thought. Had Will bet any amount on that belief she would have won the jackpot because what the Queen was about say would some of the most painful news Will had ever had to hear.

"Phobos…said I planted a second personality in your mind, to use as assassin to kill him. He has convinced the entire rebellion you're a traitor and has even convinced the Guardians and my niece of this as well," Susan explained with sorrowful expression on her face, knowing this information would devastate Will.

Susan watched helplessly as Will's eyes quickly started to swell with tears. For the former Keeper, her whole world had been shattered into a thousand pieces. "I'm alone? Not even Irma or Hay Lin believe it's one of Phobos lies?" Will asked as she vainly fought the urge to break down and cry.

All Susan could do was use her telekinesis to pull the two chairs closer together and with a bit of transmutation merge them into single seat the length of a small sofa. The older woman then pulled her daughter into a hug and tries to comfort her as best she could.

"It's alright sweetie, everything will be alright," Susan said gently, as she rocked her daughter back and forth. The Queen's actions made Will stop crying and look at the royal woman in shock. The Queen was holding her and speaking to her so affectionately, it felt strange yet soothing.

Susan smiled fondly down at the staring girl as she let her go, knowing now was the time to tell the red head the most shocking news of all. "Will…or should I say Wilhelmina," Susan started saying, as she gently placed her hands on Will shoulders and smiled motherly at her daughter, who was now looking very confused that the last thing the Queen had called her.

"The Stone of Threbe did find my daughter that day, when you got hit by the beam of green light," The Queen explained, making Will feel like she was being torn in two inside.

One side was telling Will it was not what she thought, there was no way the Queen could not be referring to her. She was just a stupid, ugly, clumsy girl who did not deserve an thing but to be alone all her life. The other half wanted to believe it was true for some unkown reason. It was like when she learned how to telatransport. Will did not know how suddenly knew how to do it yet she was able to do it so easily like she had done it a thousand time before, now this same feeling was telling her what the Queen was saying was was the absolute truth.

"The stone did not do as it was supposed to, which was show me an image of my daughter's face," Susan started explaining again, while Will hung on her every word.

"Instead it tried to point to her, like a compass points out a direction. But a seal had been placed on her powers that also hide her from me, so the beam of light tried to destroy the seal so I could find her at long last. I would have been able to make sure my daughter had been all right after the stone's 'attack' had ended, but a certain Earth Guardian took the liberty of hitting me with a couple of bricks. I'll have to have a long 'talk' with her about that," Susan said, as she wrapped up her long explanation.

Will is completely stunned. While the Queen had not outright declared that she was her daughter, the not so subtle hints were quite clear. "Were you…happy with the person you had found?" Will asked, the worry and fear clearly evident in her eyes and tone.

Those concerns faded into oblivion as her newfound mother responded, "I found a beautiful, smart and resourceful young girl, whom only a fool would not be proud to call a daughter. And I swear if any tried to lay a finger on her ever again, they are going to find out just how powerful I really am."

It was that statement that made Will stop restraining herself and cry out, "Mom!" Will lunged at the older woman and wrapped her arms around Susan. Susan returned the hug and stroked her daughter's hair as Will cried into her chest.

Will eventually cried herself to sleep in her true mother's loving embrace, making the older woman scoop the girl up and telatransport her daughter to her room. Once there, Susan used her magic to change Will's attire back into a nightgown and tucked her in under the blankets.

Susan then took the dress and put it with away with Will's other clothes. As Susan inspected her daughter's current assortment of clothing she thought to herself, 'We are going to need expand your wardrobe Wilhelmina, I don't mind your Earth clothes but you realy do need some Meridian clothes, for at least official and formal events any way. Oh well, we can worry about that later.'

With that Susan finished putting the dress away, then went over to her daughter and her sleeping form and planted a kiss on her forehead and said, "Good night, sweetheart." With that Susan left, knowing that for now, for better and for worse, she would be by daughter's side from now on.

---

Finally wrote the chapter where Will finally find out the truth about herself, hoped you all enjoyed it.


	11. New Life, New Friend and New Powers

AN: I would like to thank KnightofFaerun for betaing this fic and I would also like to thank Wilhelmina Vandom, Mirai No Dinurs, Lilly Tiger, Diamond-baby94, Ant Crown, stxs and Lisifa for reveiwing.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 11: New Life, New Friend and New Powers

Will for the second time, woke up in the warm and comfortable bed of her new room. This time instead of being confused and scared of her surrounding, Will now felt a bit sad that she was not still in her mother's arms.

'Was it all just a dream? It felt so real but it does seem so unbelievable; me the other princess of Meridian? It does seem a bit too good to be true.' Will thought as she sat in her bed trying to figure out if she had dreamt every thing that happened last night.

While Will was pondering this, she heard a knock at the door, snapping her out of her thoughts. "C-come in," Will answered with a stutter because she had been caught by surprise. No one ever knocked to enter her room before, they would just come in, so it was a rather new experience for Will.

The door opened to reveal a servant bringing a tray of food in and placed it on the desk. "Your breakfast, my lady. The Queen has left two letters on the tray for you as well. She said you should read the one from the Oracle first before reading her message," the servant explained before giving Will a small bow and then left.

The second the door shut Will sprang from the bed and headed towards the desk, wanting to read the letter knowing the one from Susan would prove if every thing had been a dream or not.

As Will sat down, she grabbed the letters from the tray and looked to see which one was which. Will saw both had red wax sealing the letters shut but each had a different picture engraved in the wax.

The first looked like the Heart of Candracar, the other looked like the image that was on Caleb's cape at the party, the one that was supposed to be the emblem of the royal family. Will knew that was Susan's…her mother's letter, so did that mean the one with the image of the Heart belonged to this Oracle person?

'Does this mean who ever he or she is has something to do with the Heart somehow?' Will thought, as she opened the letter.

---

_Dear Princess Wilhelmina and former Keeper of the Heart of Candracar,_

_I apologize for not telling you any of this in person, but since your mother is most likely very upset with me I thought it best to leave this letter to inform you of certain things._

_First of all, I would like to say I am sorry for not being able to assist you much while under the care of the Vandoms. I was able to do minor things to help you, such as making you able to find lost money for example, but this of course did not spare you the pain you were forced to endure for thirteen years. Fortunately your mother has found you and you'll be safe in her care._

_Now I am certain you're wondering what I mean by former Keeper, as I have written earlier in this letter. Now that you have the responsibilities of being a princess, I thought it best to relieve you of the burdens of being the Keeper of the Heart._

_Normally the Council of Candracar does not choose someone to be a Guardian when they are born into a certain social position since the double burden would be too great, but as you have already seen, the Guardians were desperately needed so we made an exception in your case._

_Now that your services are no longer required, I have left compensation for your assistance in your mother's care. She will know when it is time for it to be used and I hope it will be of great help to you._

_Your ally and friend,_

_the Oracle_

---

Will almost dropped the letter when she read that she was no longer a Guardian. Being the Keeper of the Heart had been such an important thing to her and it over just like that. Was it really because she was needed on Meridian or were they just trying to get rid of her because she had been such a terrible Keeper?

Wanting to get her mind off those thoughts, Will grabbed the other letter and opened it.

---

_Dear Wilhelmina,_

_Good morning honey, I hope you had nice sleep. When you've finished your breakfast, feel free to wander around the castle. Sandpit will be waiting outside your room to escort you, as both your guide and bodyguard._

_I know you probably believe you don't need one, but humor me so I can have piece of mind knowing you have someone watching over you. I lost you once and I don't want to risk that happening again._

_I'm sorry I can't spend the day with you, but being Queen keeps me very busy so itss hard to get more then a few hours of free time a day. Don't worry though, I'll to see if I can shift some things around and have a day for just you and me some time soon._

_Love, Mom_

_P.S. Your old clothes are in the dresser and don't be afraid to wear them just because they are not what one would call "proper princess "attire'. We can worry about getitng you proper clothing later._

---

Will almost cried when she read the 'Love, Mom' part. Many would say it was no big deal, but for Will it was a long forgotten dream come true to read those words. The sadness from the other letter now forgotten, Will set her sijghts on the food before her.

The plate was covered with scrambled eggs, sausage and toast and made the young girl's mouth water. A hot breakfast for her was rare or at least back in her old life it was, so Will took her time enjoying the meal.

After Will was done she headed for the dresser and opened it up to find something to wear. She slip on a red t-shirt, gray sweat jacket and a pair of gray sweat pants and her old black runners. Will was glad she could wear her old clothes, at least for a little while longer. Being a tomboy meant Will preferred pants over skirts and dresses, but she had a feeling she was going to need to get used to wearing those more often due to her new…position.

'Then there is all that princess stuff I'm going have to learn, I bet. Will mom still want me around if I can't meet the standards?' Will thought, her poor self-esteem finally coming back when she realized how un-princess like she was.

Will was the exact opposite of what she assumed a princess should be, which was beautiful, graceful, elegant, and well-mannered. Will did not see herself as any of these things, but hoped that maybe her mother would have some advice on how to improve on all this.

Will then made her way towards the door and opened it to reveal two guards standing on both sides. "Good morning your…I mean my lady. Almost forgot we can't call you that yet." The guard said, making Will confused.

"He means your proper title, your highness. You mother has only told a select few of your true identity, as a means of allowing you a chance to grow accustomed to your new role without having too much pressure being placed on you. Also, her highness does not wish to let the rebels know you are her daughter until you can learn to defend yourself from any possible attacks they may try." The second guard explained to Will.

"Oh…" Will responded, feeling a little hurt her mother did not want every one knowing about her yet, even if it was for her own protection. Will then heard a familiar rustling sound come up behind her and turned to see Sandpit slither up and take on its humanoid form.

"Ah your escort has arrived, my lady. If you are looking for the Queen, she is most likely in her study. You might want to stay away while she is in there though. Her highness hates doing paper work so she gets a bit grumpy when forced to do it," The second guard said with grin, the other guard chuckling in agreement.

Will felt a bit disappointed at this news, since she had been hoping to see her mother and talk to her. But since she could not do that, she decides look around castle instead, so she knew where everything was. Not that it would easy remembering it all that since the castle was rather big.

---

Meanwhile, in Susan's study, the Queen was busy with something important, but it was certainly not paper work. Both she and Raythor were actually discussing certain plans that involved Will.

One of the topics was, of course, her schooling. The redhead was more then a bit behind in her lessons that would have prepared her for her role as princess. There was a relatively simple solution to that, which was to have the princess learn by helping her mother every so often with her duties and have few etiquette lessons scheduled a few times a week, to help Wilhelmina learn the basics skills she would need in the future.

Most people would say this plan would not get results fast enough. Any other noble or lady would throw the poor girl into a room and bombard her with lessons on how Wilhelmina should look, talk, walk and act like a princess. But Susan and Raythor knew better than to do such a thing, due to several reasons.

One of these reasons was because even Susan herself did not act like a proper Queen. Susan could not expect her daughter to behave like the textbook example of a 'proper' princess when Susan did not follow the rules herself. (Examples: Wears robes instead of gowns or dresses, is a trained warrior, actually talks to the people instead of distancing herself as most queens normally do)

A second reason was the fact that Wilhelmina would be overwhelmed if they made her do that. The poor girl was going to have a hard enough time adjusting to all this with out having proper protocol drilled into her head.

The third and most important reason was (To Susan and Raythor) the fact that Wilhelmina was fine as she was. It was true Wilhelmina lacked the knowledge of how to handle life in the royal court; but it was also true she did process many of the traits that made her mother the Queen she was today. These traits were rarely seen due to Wilhelmina's lack of self-confidence, but they were there nontheless. With a little encouragement to build up that confidence and a little polishing up, they knew Wilhelmina would make a fine princess. They just needed to ease her into the position a bit at a time.

The second topic they were discussing was a bit more pleasant and simple, a celebration for Wilhelmina's return. But they needed to settle a few 'minor' problems before they could fully plan this event.

"First we need to train her to use her powers before any celebration can be held," Susan said plainly, and Raythor could not help but agree with the idea. The party would publicly announce the return of Susan's daughter, which could make her a target of rebel attacks. The princess would need to be able to protect herself in such cases and that could only done by Wilhelmina learning to wield her magic.

"Fortunately her time as a Guardian might have helped her with that…for telatransporting any way," Raythor responded. He hoped the princess' surprising mastery of the advanced skill would help her with other abilities as well.

Susan had to smile proudly at the memory of her daughter using such an advanced skill so successfully so soon after gaining her Guardian powers. True Wilhelmina was using the Heart of Candracar to do it at the time, but the spell still required considerable skill on the user's part to use correctly.

"That's true, plus there is the Eternal Gift from being a Guardian to consider as well. Most likely Wilhelmina will be limited to Quintessence, when it comes to the use of elemental power, but I'm not sure of the neutral powers though." Susan commented, a little nervous at the idea of her daughter's access to such an element.

Quintessence was a very useful and powerful element, but it was also a very tricky one to master, mainly the bringing inanimate objects to life part. Some of Susan's first attempts at the use of that ability as a girl were a bit…interesting so say the least. Susan's mother didn't did like those first few experiments though, since it had random objects flying around room, completely out of control.

Raythor could almost read the Queen's mind and chuckled at the images that came to mind. He had been only boy at the time and was not even in training as a soldier yet when those events happened, but the stories of the Queen's trying to control her powers were still told to this day. Many of which were very amusing to hear, though the people who experienced those days tended to say they where hardly somthing to laugh at.

"Well at least the princess will have someone familiar with those powers to guide her. After all, your mother and sister had access to the traditional powers of the royal family, while you were the exception to the rule. That made it hard for you to be taught control when there was no one to go to for advice." Raythor said, hoping to calm his Queen a bit at the idea of her daughter causing the same chaos the older woman had done in her youth.

"True. But I would still feel better if she had a safer element to call on than Quintessence," Susan said with sigh. She grew worried though when saw an evil grin appear on Raythor's face.

"A safer element, you say? Like the Fire element and the garden incident?" Raythor said, making Susan scowl at him.

"I was eight!" Susan protested in her defense.

"You were twelve when you caused the tornado that almost destroyed those farmlands." Raythor added to his list of reminders.

"That boy should have kept his hands to himself!" Susan countered for a second time.

"Then there was that time when you were sixteen and almost made a tower collapse," Raythor added, dodging a book that was thrown at him by a very annoyed Queen.

"The Earth element is prone to act on someone's anger at times! Besides my mother was being unreasonable!" Susan growled, as she continued to defend herself from Raythor's teasing.

"Oh and let us not forget the flood!" Raythor said as he ducked the next thing that was thrown at him, which was a lighting bolt.

"RAYTHOR!"

---

Two hours later, Will was wandering around the royal gardens. She had lost Sandpit somehow among all the twists and turns, but was not too worried. 'I get a moment alone now and he will find me sooner or later,' Will thought absentmindedly as she wandered through the maze of hedges and rose bushes.

Will eventually came across a large pond in the middle of the gardens. A weeping willow hung over the pond and looked like it would have been good spot to rest for a bit, if not for what happened next.

"Catch that blasted thing!" Will heard someone yell and turned to see pair of guards chasing a…doormouse? The small furry creature ran into the area. Surprisingly enough it ran up to Will and climbed up her body until was on her shoulders as if seeking her protection.

As the guards got close, both pointed their spears at her and growled out, "Give us that pest!"

Will had a feeling these two were part of the majority that did know who she was yet, meaning Will could could not just 'pull rank' on them. But she also knew she could not let these two get their hands on this poor creature, so she glared at them and asked in a demanding voice, "Why should I?"

"Because it bit me, you stupid girl!" one guard growled out and tried to grab the doormouse, but Will sidestepped his move and the guard stumbled past her. As the guard turned around to try again, Will kicked him where the sun don't shine making him drop to the ground in pain.

"Why you little…" the second guard said angrily and started to advance on Will but then a familiar voice roared out, "What do you think your doing?!"

Both the guards and Will turned to see Raythor approaching them, with Sandpit close behind and neither looked too happy with the scene.

"S-sir I was just…" the guard who was still standing started to stutter but Raythor did not give him a chance to make an excuse. "I have a very good idea of what you were going to do! Leave and take that buffoon with you! I'll deal with you both later!"

The guard quickly complied and helped his partner to his feet. They both left as quickly as possible, wanting to escape Raythor's glare as soon as they could. As soon as they were out of sight, Raythor turned to Will and bowed before asking, "Are you all right, your highness?"

"Y-yes I'm alright," Will responded with stutter, still getting used to the 'your highness' thing. She was not sure if she would ever get used to it actually. As if sensing her thoughts, the doormouse started snuggling Will's cheek in a comforting manner, making Will giggle since some of the fur also tickled her neck at the same time.

While this was happening, Raythor moved to pet the small gray rodent, but it hissed at Raythor's hand and bit one of his fingers. "Owe!" Raythor yelled as he pulled his hand away, with the doormouse still latched on.

Will tried to help get the vicious little creature off Raythor, but with the Queen's second in command swinging his hand around like a madman, it made it a rather difficult task to say the least.

After few minutes of Raythor thrashing around, the doormouse lost it's grip on Raythor's finger and went sailing into the air. Will ran to catch it but she did not think she would be fast enough. 'If only I could still telatransport!' Will thought desperately as she ran. This desire activated her powers that she did not know she had and in a flash of familiar green light, Will telatransported in front of the flying rodent and caught him.

"What theeeee!" Will started to say, but it quickly tuned into a scream as she fell straight downward landing in something very cold and caused a loud splash.

---

Susan was reading over a few documents, partially distracted because a half hour ago Sandpit had come in saying it had lost Wilhelmina when it had looked away for a moment to deal with a few ladies of the court who were giving her daughter looks of disgust.

Susan assumed her daughter was oblivious to what had happened and did not realize Sandpit had stopped to deal with the two women. By the time Sandpit was done scaring its victims it had realized its charge was long gone, so it had come to see Susan, since it did not know how find the princess.

Quickly scrying her daughter's location she sent both Sandpit and Raythor to go retrieve Wilhelmina and bring her here. It was close to lunch time after all, so Susan thought they could have an hour or two together before the Queen had to get back to work again.

Susan was starting to worry though, since it was taking the threesome so long to get back. She was tempted to go look for them herself, but then sensed a surge of magic that felt much like her daughter's power.

Quickly casting her scrying spell on a small mirror she kept on her desk, so saw what happened. What Susan saw was her daughter had telatransported over a pond to catch something, then was quickly reminded of one of the most ancient laws in the universe: what goes up, must come down.

Susan laughed as she saw her daughter hit the water and was quickly pulled up by Sandpit, looking like a drowned rat. It was even more amusing when Susan saw what her daughter had been trying to catch before falling into the water.

'It seems my daughter has found herself a pet. Must be an Earth animal that wondered through a portal at some point, because it does not look like any Meridian creature I know of.' Susan mused as she watched Raythor remove his cape and wrap it around the shivering girl.

Susan could tell Raythor did not like the small creature by the way he glared at it and was nursing his finger, giving the Queen a rough idea of the reason why the man would hate such a cute little thing.

'I'll have to ask Wilhelmina about what happened so I can hear the whole story,' Susan thought to herself, as she waved her hand and ended the scrying spell.

---

Will sat in front of the pond trying to warm up and dry off. The dormouse was trying to do the same as it curled up against Will's chest for warmth, shivering as bad as the redhead was. "H-How d-d-did I d-do that w-with out the H-H-Heart?" Will barely managed to sputter out through her chattering teeth.

"You…should ask your mother about that, your highness. Magic is not exactly my area of expertise," Raythor responded, a bit reluctant to tell the princess that she still had access to some rather powerful magic, despite no longer being a Guardian of the Veil.

Susan had given him strict orders to leave any explanation magic to her. The Queen did not want her daughter experimenting with her powers without the older woman present. The castle barely survived the older woman's initial training and Susan did not want to subject it to any more punishment, even if the princess only had access to a single element instead of all five.

"I-Is she s-s-still busy?" The shivering girl asked, clearly wanting to ask her mother as soon as possible. Raythor smiled and nodded his head as he responded, "Actually that is why I came with Sandpit to find you. Your mother wants to have lunch with you and sent us to bring you to her. I assume you want to change into something dry first?"

"Y-Yes p-p-please," Will said, wanting to get warm as soon as possible. As she stood up though, Will noticed something strange was happening on the surface of the pond and turned to look.

"Your highness?" Raythor asked with a concerned expression on his face, as he watched his princess turn to look back at the water. Will did hear him though as she saw the pond's surface started show some image like it was a TV screen.

The image was one of Cedric and a bunch of strange creatures that had greenish gray skin and yellow eyes, some armed with spears while others carried chains and shackles. They were attacking a group of people and looked like they were trying to take them prisoner, if the chains were any indication.

The sight angered Will and was causing her to emit a subtle pink glow around her. The glow seemed to give off enough heat to create steam from the water that soaked her body, making Sandpit and Raythor step away from her. Neither knew what was angering the princess, but whatever it was, it was something pretty bad.

"Your highness, what is the matter?" Raythor asked again but his only response was the girl dropping the cape that had been wrapped around her body and telatransported away. This sight filled Raythor with dread and quickly focused his thoughts on his Queen. He yelled out with his thoughts hoping the Queen would pick up on them. 'Your highness, we have a problem!'

---

Meanwhile, Cedric was wreaking havoc in a secluded spot in the forest near a dirt road that cut through it. He had been laying in wait for anyone to pass by so they could use whoever it was as a sacrifice to give Prince Phobos more power.

Cedric was in luck, since a carriage of one of the noble families had passed by while he and his small band of Lurdens laid in wait for victims. Now any noble family would have done nicely for the sacrifice, since they would have plenty of strong bodyguards with them that would have plenty of life force to steal, but this one had an added bonus.

This was the Olsen family, one of those few who so openly supported Queen Susan. They had been a major thorn in Phobos' side when it came to recruiting support against his aunt. ' I get two birds with one stone. Dealing a blow to those pests and getting my Lord his much needed life force at same time. Must be my lucky day,' Cedric thought as a sadistic grin crossed his face.

The bodyguards had been quickly overpowered and were restrained at the moment. The only ones still free were the heir to the family name, Matt Olsen, and his grandfather, Ted Olsen. The old man was on the ground, his back up against a tree, his leg injured when he and his grandson tried to escape. The younger Olsen had a sword in his hand and was trying to hold Lurdens off with a few swings of the blade.

Cedric could tell the boy was an average swordsman at best, being more known for his skill as a musician than anything else. The Lurdens were only toying with boy though, knowing they had him and his grandfather trapped. And since they were miles away from anywhere, Cedric did not see why he should spoil the Lurdens' fun since he was enjoying the show himself as well.

The snake man's arrogance would be his downfall this day, as Will telatransported onto the scene. The glow was no longer present around her but the dormouse was still on her shoulders hissing at Cedric and the Lurdens. Will on the other hand just glared at Cedric and said in a warning tone, "Leave them alone you belly crawler or else!"

Cedric and the Lurdens turned to look over to the newly arrived red head and the snake man chuckled at the sight. "So Ex-Keeper of the Heart and her newfound pet rat think they are match for me and thirty Lurdens? How do you plan on doing that?" Cedric mocked, thinking that there was no way the girl could have learned much about her powers in such a short amount of time. Plus even if she did have any new tricks, how much power could she possibly have?

From what Prince Phobos said, Elyon had only the strength a single fully empowered Guardian, there was no way this girl could have more power then that and it was certainly not enough to beat thirty Lurdens or himself.

Will, still angered by her initial vision and now being goaded by Cedric's taunt, charged forward thinking all she had to was land one good hit on Cedric and she could take him down. If she still had the ability to telatransport then she must have her super strength as well...right?

That theory had been proven wrong. As Will got close and took a swing, Cedric's tail grabbed her and he grinned evilly as he lifted her up to eye level. "Let me guess, you thought you were still super strong didn't you? Hahahaha!" Cedric cackled as Will hung in mid-air with a look of terror on her face.

'What…what happened? If I kept my ability to telatransport why did I not keep my strength?' Will thought fearfully in her mind, not knowing what to do now.

This was when the doormouse jumped from Will's shoulder and latched onto Cedric's hand with both its teeth and claws. "Aaaahhhh!" Cedric roared in pain as he became yet another victim of the gray rodent.

Cedric dropped Will and grabbed the doormouse with his now free hand. Then as Cedric pulled it off him, the snake man threw it with all his might at a nearby tree. The small rodent hit the trunk with such force that it fell back down to the ground without ever reacting, looking lifeless as it laid on the ground.

Will tried rushed over to her furry savior, to see if it was still alive, but Cedric stopped her by grabbing Will with his tail. "Don't worry, you'll see your little pet soon enough…in oblivion!" Cedric said with a sadistic grin on his face, as he started wrapping his tail more tightly around the redhead's body.

"I…will make…you pay…Cedric!" Will managed to gasp out angrily through the crushing. But Cedric just laughed as he shot back, "And how do you plan to do that? You're completely at my mercy and soon you'll be as dead as that rodent over there!"

Cedric's words only made Will even more angry, the desire to make the snake pay grow stronger by the second. This was when Will felt a surge of power swell up inside her, one that made Will think of thunder storms and bolts of lighting for some strange reason.

These images made Will wish she could fry Cedric, that she could unleash this strange feeling inside her on Phobos' right-hand freak show! This was all that the power inside needed to hear and it started to act on those desires.

This was when Cedric started to notice that the girl in his coil started crackling with electricity, making him start to feel very afraid. 'No! Not that!' Cedric mentally roared in fear and tried to release his prisoner but it was too late.

Bolts of lighting burst forth from Will's body and engulfed both her and Cedric in a very destructive light show. Other lighting bolts shot from Will's body in random directions, even hitting some of the Lurdens, but for the most part it just made them scatter to avoid the wild attack.

The Olsens watched in complete shock and awe at the sight of this young girl unleashing such a powerful force. How anyone other then the royal family could possess such power was beyond their comprehension, but they were certainly glad she had it.

As the lighting died down both Cedric and Will collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. For Cedric it was due to the pain he had been forced to endure, while Will was worn out from using too much of this new power all at once.

Will was the first to get up and climbed over Cedric's still form, once again making her way over to the doormouse. 'Please let it be okay.' Will thought weakly, as she crawled towards her intended destination.

Before she even got halfway though, Cedric was starting to recover as well and roared at his cowering army of Lurdens, "Kill her you mindless creatures, while she is weak!" This snapped the Lurdens back to their senses and they charged towards the defenseless girl.

Will looked back to see this and shut her eyes tight and braced herself for the end. But that was when Will heard a loud roar then felt something fly past her. Will had opened her eyes just in time to see a large humanoid shaped beast dive into the horde of Lurdens, flinging them left and right like they were rag dolls.

As Will watched this strange creature pummel the small army, she suddenly noticed she was floating above the ground and was being incased in some kind of bubble made of pure energy. 'Sorry it took me so long to come and help sweetie, but it took me a while to find you. You really shouldn't go running off like that, it's far too dangerous.' Will heard the voice of her mother say in her mind.

"What?" Will asked in a confused whisper as she started to look around and saw her mother walking towards her. Will was about to say something when her mother's mental message stopped her, 'Remember you can't call me mom in public yet sweetie, but with you able to use your powers like that so soon, I don't think we will need to keep it a secret for much longer.'

Will blushed a bit at the pride in her mother's words. Will could not even figure out how exactly she did that and was unsure if she wanted to know since it had been rather fatiguing.

As if detecting her daughter's train of thought Susan said, "Don't worry, you just used too much power all at once. I'll help you learn to control and focus it a bit better than what you just did. Besides that was the first time you used such a great deal of mystic energy without being able to call on a Heart for help, your body is not yet used to the strain."

Will smiled weakly as she said in a tired voice, "Hey no reading my mind." Susan countered with a smile of her own and responded, "Sorry, part of the job description." Somehow Will knew the older woman was referring to her role as a mother and not as Queen when she said that.

Suddenly the strange beast jumped in front of the bubble, making Will yelp in fright. The only thing that kept Will from screaming or panicking any further was the fact that her mother was laughing.

As Will stared at the older woman as if she had gone insane, Susan got herself under control again and said, "I guess he does not look much like he did earlier does he? I used my powers to…enhance your furry friend so he could deal with those Lurdens."

Will looked back to where the doormouse had landed and saw nothing was there anymore. Will's head then darted back to where the bigger creature stood. "You mean this big thing is actually that little…" Will stared to say but her voice then trailed off, as she stared at the transformed creature.

Susan smiled and shook her head at her daughter's antics before she put her 'game face' back on and looked towards Cedric, who was finally back up and ready for battle again. "Do you honestly think you can win, Cedric? Your help has been dealt with and you already have taken a bit of a beating, so why not surrender and save us both a lot of trouble?" The Queen of Meridian stated as her hands crackled with electricity.

"I think…NOT!" Cedric growled as he grabbed a large old log with his tail and flung it towards the two Olsens. This caught Susan off guard and quickly tried to use her telekinetic powers to stop the log, while Cedric made his escape.

Susan had barely caught it in time because it was hovering less then an inch away from its would-be victims by the time her powers took effect. It was a bit too close for comfort for all those involved. As Susan tossed the old log off into the brush, she turned to see Cedric had already disappeared, making pursuit impossible.

"I hate it when we get so close to capturing one of them and they pull something like this," Susan grumbled under her breath. She then looked over the two Olsens and their bound bodyguards and at least could feel satisfied she and her daughter had prevented the kidnapping at least.

Susan raised her hand towards the bound men and said, "Quintessence!" Will was confused at what that meant, until she saw lighting burst fourth from her mother's hand and towards the men in chains.

At first Will was horrified since she thought her mother was trying to hurt or kill the men for some reason. But then the redhead noticed that the lighting did not seem to hurt anyone and that the chains were releasing them as if they were now alive.

While Will watched the men get up and use their former bindings to take the wounded Lurdens prisoner, Susan released Will from the energy bubble and gently placed Will back on the ground. As Susan helped her daughter to her feet, Matthew and his grandfather approached them.

"Thank you for your assistance, your highness. Yours too, young lady. If you had not appeared when you had who knows what they would have done to us?" Ted Olsen said with a grateful tone, while his grandson helped steady the old man because of his broken leg.

Will gave the limb a worried look while Susan responded, "Your family has been of great help to me durring this crisis, Lord Olsen - the least I could do was come to your aid. Of course most of the thanks should go to...our young friend here. She was the one who knew of the attack…though I wished she had not rushed off on her own." Susan had said the last part directly to her daughter, making the redhead duck behind her furry protector.

Ted chuckled but then noticed the Queen was kneeling down and was reaching for his injured leg. He knew what she was going to do and was going to say it was not necessary, but his Queen's magic was already taking effect. His leg was quickly healing and soon he was able to walk on it again.

"Thank you again, your highness, but you really did not need to…" Ted started to say, but his Queen cut him off. "Nonsense, it is my duty to help my people in any way I can. Besides your walking stick was starting to look tired." Susan said in a teasing tone as she looked at Matt, who did not seem to hear the joke since he focused on Will.

Susan knew that look and it worried her. 'Oh dear, this won't end well once that Caleb boy finds out,' The Queen mentally told herself, as the boy walked over to her daughter and kissed the back of her hand.

Will's cheeks turned a deep crimson by action, while Matt asked, "May I ask the lady's name?" Of course before Will could even try to respond, a certain transformed creature growled at him and made the boy back away.

Susan had to silently applaud the creature's over-protective nature for two reasons. One was the fact that her daughter's heart belonged to another and two, Susan was also a bit over-protective of Wilhelmina herself.

"Huggles stop that!" Will sternly said to the large beast, making every one stare at her because of her choice of name. "What? It suits him--or did when he was tiny and cute…um no offence, big guy," Will said bashfully under the gaze of those present.

"He can still change back to that form but…Huggles? Of all the names to give your familiar!" Susan said in a slightly exasperated tone. The Queen had to admit, the name suited the smaller, cuter form of the creature, but she could not imagine the bigger form being called that!

"He's my what?" Will asked, trying figure out what her mother was talking about. Susan just shook her as she responded, "I'll explain later. Anyway will you be needing any assistance getting home, Lord Olsen?"

"That won't be necessary, your highness. They were just as interested in our mounts as they were of us for some odd reason so we can manage. I'll see to it those creatures are dealt with when we arrive back at our home. I'm certain the dungeon can hold them until we can find a use for them," Ted responded, gesturing to the Lurdens behind him.

"Alright then, then I guess we shall take our leave. I wish you a safe journey home Lord Olsen." Susan said just before she telatransported Will, the newly named Huggles and herself back to the palace, leaving a disappointed Matt Olsen behind.

"Don't worry my boy, I'm sure you'll see her again. Though if she is the Guardian every one is talking about, you have some pretty strong competition for her affection." Ted said to his grandson, as he patted him on the shoulder.

"I think I have rather good odds seeing how my 'competition' probably believes Phobos' lies so much, he won't believe she isn't the Queen's puppet," Matt said as he walked towards his horse.

Ted Olsen had to shake his head as he watched his grandson walk away. The old man knew a young girl's heart did not change so easily and it would seem his grandson was going to learn that lesson the hard way.

---

And there you go, I'll be working on a few one-shots for the next little while so chapter 12 might take a little longer then normal.


	12. Lessons In Magic and Royality

Author note: Would like to thank Lisifa, KnightofFaerun and Wilhelmina Vandom for reviewing and would also like to thank Knight for betaing this fic.

This chapter is a bit of a slow one, but I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 12: Lessons In Magic and Royality

Susan, Will and Huggles appeared in Susan's study, where Raythor was waiting. He looked relieved to see the, or had been until he noticed Huggles. "What in the world is that?" he asked pointing at Huggles who growled at Raythor in return.

"Don't worry it's just Wilhelmina's familiar, Raythor. Now if you would be so kind as to go order lunch for us while I have a talk with Wilhelmina." Susan instructed as she helped Will into a chair since she was still drained from her sudden use of magic.

Raythor nodded his head in compliance, giving the princess a sympathetic glance as he left. When a mother said she wanted to 'talk' with their child, is usually meant a lecture was in store for them.

After Raythor was gone Susan looked at Huggles and commanded, "Change back." The Weremouse started to growl at her for commanding it to do something, but Susan's glare made it cower and revert back to its original form.

As Huggles jumped on to his mistress' lap, Will clutched him tightly. She was feeling a little scared because of her mother's changing mood. Her mother was now in front of her and was looking a little more upset then she had been a moment ago.

"Well…I don't know whether to be happy you're alright or angry you pulled that little stunt. Why did you go on your own, and more importantly how did you even find out about the attack to begin with?" Susan demanded.

Will shook a little in fear but managed to force herself to speak. "I-I saw it happening when I was looking into a pound. I thought that if I could still telatransport I was sure I was still strong, so I…" Will started saying but slowly, her voices became distant as looked downward and shut her eyes tight.

'Please just hit me and get it over with.' Will begged in her mind, years of painfully ingrained thinking coming into play once again. Unknown to Will though, she was telepathically broadcasting these thoughts loud and clear, her powers still activating on their own.

Susan's blood ran cold hearing these thoughts and nearly making woman burst into tears. 'Wilhelmina thinks I would hit her just because I'm a little upset with her right now? I hope there is cave in at the mines and those two are caught in it!' the Queen thought in anger, as she knew they were the reason why her daughter thought that being physically harmed was an acceptable thing to do to a child.

Susan took a few deep breaths to calm herself, knowing she did not have the luxury of have an emotional breakdown. Not when Wilhelmina needed her. Once Susan was sure she was fully in control of her emotions again she said, "I have decided on your punishment, Wilhelmina." This made Will slowly look up, bracing herself for what was to come.

What will saw was her mother pointing her finger at her and firing a small beam of light at Will's chest. Will was very frightened, just now realizing her mother could do much worse things than simply hit her, she could use magic on her!

Will waited for the pain to come but was surprised that something else happened. The light entered her body and it felt like something inside her being…restrained? 'What's…happening?' Will thought as the light died down.

"The first part of your punishment is done," Will heard her mother say, making Will look up at her in confusion. 'How was that part of my punishment? Nothing happened.' Will thought as Susan smiled at her daughter's confusion.

"I have taken away your scrying and telatransporting abilities. Once I know your going to be more careful with them I'll give them back." Susan explained with a gentle smile on her face before adding, "The second part of your punishment is…I think being stuck with me for the rest of the week should suffice. You come with me, while I do EVERY thing on my schedule, no matter what it is. You'll be bored out of your mind by the end the first day."

Will looked at her mother in shock. That was her punishment? She looses some of her powers and gets to spend time with her mother? Sure Will was bit sad at the idea of losing her ability to telatransport, but she had no idea what scrying was so that was no big loss. Plus she wanted to spend time with Susan, so how was that a punishment? Even if it was going to be watching her mother work, that did not seem so bad.

"What…what is the third part?" Will asked, knowing there had to be more. There was no way she could be getting off this easy.

Susan smiled sadly as she heard this. She was expecting this but it still hurt to think Wilhelmina did not think anything that did not involve pain, was not to be considered a punishment. "There is no third part Wilhelmina. I don't know every thing those two did to you, but what they did was not a form of punishment, it was torture! I won't ever, ever do something like that to you," Susan assured her daughter as she knelt down in front of the young redhead and pulled her into a hug.

Will flinched a bit at the sudden action, since a part of her was still anticipating bodily harm, but eventually returned the hug. After a few minutes Susan broke the hug and grabbed a second chair, so to sit down and have a different kind of talk with her daughter.

"Now I'm sure you have questions about your REAL powers and your familiar…Huggles. Go ahead and ask, I'll answer as best I can" Susan said, still looking like she did not agree with the name her daughter had chosen for the furry creature.

Will had to think for a moment; there was just so many things she wanted to ask she did not know where to begin. Eventually Will asked, "What is scrying exactly? Is it what I did at the pond?"

"Yes. Scrying is the ability to see images of something happening somewhere else. You do it by casting the spell on a reflective surface, like water." Susan explained but the explanation seemed to keep Will a bit confused for some reason.

"How can I do something like that when I never learned to do?" Will asked, trying to figure out how it was possible. Even when Will telatransported for the first time, she had the Heart guiding her, but this time Will had nothing like that to help her learn the scrying ability.

Susan could understand this confusion, since her daughter lacked much knowledge of magic so she elaborated. "If you were practicing book magic, also known as wizardry, that would be true. But you were born with magic, which is known as sorcery. Sorcery follows different rules and some times that type of magic acts on its own, like the scrying incident you just had. No one really knows why it happens, but it does."

Will took a moment to absorb this information before saying, "Okay I guess that makes sense…now what the heck is a familiar and why can't I name him Huggles!" Will then hugged the little creature closer to her and gave Susan the infamous puppy-dog face. It did not have an affect on the Queen, due to Will being older than most who used it but it did make the woman laugh at the attempt.

"A familiar is a special creature that watches over and protects magical beings, such as yourself. It's very rare a member of the Meridian Royal Family gains one though. But with the war and your lack of knowledge of how to use your power, I'm guessing Meridian called this little fellow to you." Susan said as she scratched the top of the dormouse's head.

Will was surprised Huggles was not growling or biting at her mother, but concluded it was because the small rodent knew not to press its luck with Susan. "Now the reason why I would prefer a more intimidating name is because…well so people would be more in intimidated. But if you want to name him Huggles I won't stop you, I just can't picture his transform state being called that." Susan added, making Will giggle. The redhead could see the name did not match the Weremouse form that Huggles could now change into.

"I could always name his monster form something else." Will suggested, grinning at her mother putting a false act of relief as the woman said, "Please do!" They both laughed at this until they heard the door open behind them.

They turned to see Raythor coming in with a tray of sandwiches. He froze as he saw Huggles scamper up onto Will's should and hiss at him. "How did that thing get back here and what happened to…oh no please tell me that's not…" Raythor yelled with a pleading expression on his face. He just starting to realize that muscular beast that had come back with the Queen and princess was also the little pest that nearly bit his finger off.

Susan grinned as she replied, "I'm afraid so Raythor. I hope you and Wilhelmina's familiar can learn to get along, because Huggles is here to stay I'm afraid." As Susan said this, Raythor started to go white and slowly left the room, acting almost like a zombie. The mother and daughter duo laughed at the sight. Susan had to gently pry the tray free of Raythor's hands with telekinesis though, since he seemed to have kept a firm grip on it in his state of shock and fear.

---

After the two finished their meal, Will's punishment began. She stayed with her mother all throughout the afternoon and like the older woman said, it was rather boring. The first thing they did was go to the throne room listening to problems that were happening around the kingdom.

In the throne room, Susan told Will to stand next to the throne and try to pay attention to the conversations. Susan also told Will to try and figure out her own solutions to any of the problems if she could, but not to suggest them. Will had been confused as to why her mother would ask her to do that but did as she was requested and tried to figure out solutions where she could.

It was not easy since Will did not understand some of what was said, but Susan told Will that was likely to happen since sometimes things have deeper politics involved. From what Will could figure out, her mother was trying to teach her something during all this, the lesson was a rather difficult one to learn apparently.

Near the end of that part of Susan's schedule, Will's legs were really starting to hurt from standing for three hours. When Will was finally allowed to move again, she flopped down on the ground and said, "Please tell me I can bring a chair next time!"

Susan gave her daughter a sympathetic smile ash she responded, "Don't worry Wilhelmina. Once we tell everyone you're my daughter you'll be able to sit in the other throne, but until then you're going to need to stand. It's considered improper for an adviser and/or bodyguards to sit during these sessions."

Will looked confused at this comment and asked, "I'm your adviser and bodyguard right now? Guess it works as a cover story for the moment, but if I'm your adviser how come I can't say anything…not that I would know what to suggest anyway."

Susan smiled as she ruffled her daughter's already unruly hair. "You're most defiantly not my bodyguard, Wilhelmina, nor my adviser, where you were standing was where a person who normally would be those things would stand. And don't worry about not understanding much just yet, that's why I wanted you with me in the first place, so to slowly get an understand of things by hearing about them over and over again. You'll figure it all out as you go along." Susan explained, making Will stare at her.

"I thought you said this was my punishment, not a lesson in politics." Will said flatly, which only caused Susan's smile to grow bigger. "It is, but when your punishment is over you'll only spend a part of the day doing this, but until then you do it ALL day," Susan responded and dragged Will back to her feet.

The next (and last) part of Susan's day was spent back in her study, looking over reports and documents. Will liked this part because she could finally sit! Sure her mother had given her several books on history, basic politics, basic manners, protocols and etiquette, and other such topics, but Will could live with that.

Susan explained it would help Will if she learned more about Meridian and the basic information on politics; she would be able to better understand the meetings in the throne room. The books on manners and such were just because both she and her mother knew Will would need them in the near future.

Near the end of the day when everything was slowing down, Susan said if Will had any questions she was free to ask. This got Will to finally ask something she had been meaning to ask since this morning. "Mom…about the last few books. I know I need to change a lot about myself but…how do I do that exactly?"

This took the woman by surprise. True Susan had been expecting her daughter to have question about things she would be learning, but the way Wilhelmina had said 'change herself' seemed like she was implying there was something wrong with who she was.

"What do you mean honey? I'm sure its feels like a lot is going to change but you make sound like you're not going to be you when it's all over." Susan said with concern in her tone. Susan had a feeling this was going to be a rather difficult conversation to sort out, given the worried and nervous expression on her daughter's face.

Will shifted uncomfortably in her seat, not sure of how to say what she wanted to say. After a few minutes of silence Will finally said, "Won't I be different though? It seems like I do everything wrong, so don't I need to change completely so I don't embarrass you?"

This made Susan even more worried. Susan had expected Wilhelmina's transition from ordinary girl to princess to be a little rough, but right now it seemed like her daughter was expecting herself to fail no matter what.

'Let's see, if I can find out a little more what's worrying her so much, then I can think of how to help her get over her doubts.' Susan mentally concluded, then went to work probing Will for information.

"Wilhelmina, why don't you tell me what you think you need to change, perhaps there is not as much to do as you think," Susan said gently, in hopes of assuring her daughter that her situation might not be as bad as Will seemed to believe. Unfortunately it did not seem to help much because Will's expression seemed to imply she did not believe her mother's words.

"I'm not so sure, mom. The books seems to agree with a lot of the stuff I was worried about; I'm as far from being a princess as I can be," Will said and looked down at her lap, not wanting to meet her mother's gaze.

Susan was now, really not liking where this conversation was going so far, but knew that it was best to get it over with now and help Wilhelmina settle her doubts. When Susan finally managed to get the redhead to explain what she was believed her were faults, some went over better then others.

When Wilhelmina said she worried about things, like being able to remember to speak properly, have proper posture and remember little things such as which fork to use at banquets, Susan understood her daughter's concerns. Those would be a bit tricky to learn since those would have been things her daughter would have learned at a young age, and would had become send nature to her long ago. But that was not the case, due her kidnapping and Susan had been expecting Wilhelmina to fear not being able to learn it all.

The next set of Wilhelmina's worries was what Susan did not like, though she understood why. Things like not being smart or not looking like a princess or even a girl. Those upset Susan a bit, because she knew her daughter was very smart and though her daughter's appearance was just fine. True a tomboy appearance was not an acceptable one when it came to the textbook example of a princess, but to Susan, the textbook could burn in the abyss for all she cared.

"Wilhelmina I want you to listen very carefully to have I have to say," Susan said in a firm yet gentle tone. Will looked at her mother with clearly nervous expression, since she did not know what her mother was going to say.

"First of all, if you ever insult your own intelligence again. You don't want to know what I'll do if you say something like that again, the same goes for your appearance. I don't care what any book or person says, your just fine as your are and don't need to change unless YOU want to." Susan stated firmly, catching the redhead off guard. Will had been expecting the opposite reaction, so this was a rather shocking surprise.

After giving her daughter a very brief moment to absorb the first part of the lecture, Susan continued. "Now as for those little details such proper behaviour and such, its best to just try your best to get the hang of it all, but at the same time don't rush yourself. Your going to uncomfortable with all this, that is to be expected given your circumstances and there is nothing we can do about but slowly get you up to speed. It going to take a lot work, but I'm sure you can do it. So please don't push yourself and take your time, you won't embarrass me if your not perfect. I'll be here to help you every step of the way so don't worry about it."

As Susan finished lecturing her daughter, Will was still trying to recover from what happened. No one ever told her she was wrong to put herself down, most people (mainly her 'parents') made sure she believed it. To have her real mother so forcefully tell her otherwise and literally shaken the foundation of ever thing Will had been taught to believe.

Will was snapped back to reality by her mother asking, "Now if you ever have any other doubts or concerns just let me know, alright Wilhelmina?" Will gave a rather slow nod that she understood, though Susan could tell there was going to take a few extra lectures in the future to fully get the message into her daughter's head, but the seeds of change had been planted so the Queen was satisfied for the moment.

Some of the message must have sunk in though because of what Will asked next, "Then…if it's alright with you mom…could you call me Will in private at the very least?"

The question had caught Susan off guard; did her daughter hate her real name? Of course Susan did consider the fact that her daughter had been called Will for years, so it was understandable that her daughter would prefer her 'old' name instead of her birth name. Plus it was common on both Earth and Meridian for people to use shorter versions of their names, so it was not like Wilhelmina's request was an unusual one.

"Alright Wilhel…Will. It's going to take me a while to get used to calling you that though." Susan said in a teasing tone, which made Will smile shyly in response. "Guess we even then. It's taking time to get used to being called your highness, princess, or even just Wilhelmina." Will commented, making Susan give her daughter a small smile, signalling she understood.

"That would understandably take a while Will. You have only just learned of your heritage so it is unlikely it will be a quick transition, nor an easy one at times but I'm sure you can do. Now is there any thing else Will? I don't want you thinking you can't talk to me about anything." Susan asked with a warm smile. Will seemed a bit more relaxed now, most likely because the redhead was now less afraid to say anything due to this little chat.

Will shook her head no, signalling she had no others. Susan knew that would only be temporary, but was glad her daughter had a little piece of mind for the moment. Susan then decided to go over their schedule for tomorrow. Susan shook her head and laughed; when she heard Will grown and started to bang her head on the desk when she heard there was four hours of worth of meetings the next day. The poor girl's legs were probably starting feel sore at the moment at just the thought of it all.

The only part of the schedule Susan left out was the biggest one of all. First thing tomorrow morning was Will's very first magic lesson, something the princess to be was going to find just as bad and exhausting as the meetings, if not worse.

---

In the Infinite City, Phobos was hearing Cedric's report of what happened and was far from pleased. The perfect chance to weaken his aunt's support by killing two members of the Olsen family, and that retched cousin of his ruins it! The fact that all those people would have provided more then enough life force for the ritual, made it even worse!

"Cedric, you are to take out another group ofLurdens and get another offering of life force. I don't care how you get it, just do it quickly! The day of awakening my sister's powers is fast approaching and I don't wish to lose valuable energy on giving her power!" Phobos ordered in a fury.

Cedric gave a quick bow out fear and said, "Of course, my lord. I will do so at once. With your permission, I could take Miranda and give her a group as well. With two groups we could be able to get something in time." This suggestion did not help improve Phobos' mood, but it at least did not make it worse, much to the snake lord's relief.

"Fine just get it done!" Phobos bellowed, making Cedric leave quickly to fetch Miranda and the Lurdens. Once Cedric was gone Phobos then let out frustrated growl as he said to himself "I swear being a complete thorn in my side runs in that branch of the family! First my uncle tries to be my best friend and annoyed me to no end until I got rid of him, then my aunt ruins my plans to seize my mother's powers, now their accursed offspring is getting in the way of even more than when she was a Guardian! I'll make both of them die a slow and painful death once I finally conquer Meridian!"

Phobos then went deeper into the Infinite City, with his special spring that he used to infuse him with the little life force he was able to gather from time to time. He needed to see if he could at least minimize his losses if Cedric and Miranda failed him in their task.

'They had better not or else the punishments will be most severe!'

---

The next day, Will was sleeping soundly in her bed, with Huggles resting on a second pillow next to her head. She was completely oblivious to the fact her mother was advancing on the redhead's slumbering form.

Will was cuddling the stuffed frog Caleb had won for her at Elyon's celebration and was mumbling his name in her sleep, which brought a sad smile to Susan's face. 'What a shame I have to wake her from such a nice dream,' Susan thought as she gently shook her daughter gently while saying, "Will, its time to get up."

This got small noise of protest, most likely because the dream Will was in was now fading away as she awoke. Will then slowly opened her eyes, and looked up at her mother. "Mom? What is it?" Will asked sleepily, as she sat up. Will had no idea of what time it was, but sun just barely starting to rise, so it could not time fore the meetings yet. Of that Will was certain of.

"Nothing to worry about Will, just a few lessons before we start our day sweat heart." Susan explained as she helped Will out of bed. Susan could Will was not a morning person, seemed to be a family trait since Susan hated mornings at Will's age as well. It took a couple of years of being Queen to get conditioned to getting up early.

Will was still only half awake as she slipped on a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Even being lead down the castle corridors did not seems to help Will get going, but Susan had a cure for that. One her daughter was going to despise.

A few minute later, they were in a large stone room deep inside the palace. The room was where Susan did most of her training to control her powers, so it was both conditioned to handle some of the punishment that Will's training would inflict and give the needed objects for Will to practice with.

There were a few simple targets for Will to shoot at and some random objects for Will to practice bringing to life and controlling. "What's all this for?" Will asked groggily, only show minor interest due to her drowsy state.

Will did not se the evil smirk on her mother face, as the woman got behind Will and said, "First lets get you awake before I explain anything." With those words Will was suddenly drenched from above as water poured down on her head.

"Aaaahhh!" Will screamed as the cold water hit, and was now fully awake. She glared at her mother, with an expression that clearly said 'was that really necessary?' But older woman shrugged it off, as she began to explain what they were going to do for the next few hours.

"Since your just starting to connected to your powers, lets keep it to simple target practice. Since you have seen Quintessence used before, and probably got at least a basic idea of how to summon it because of your battle with Cedric, it should not be too hard to replicate the effect…only this time just shoot a bolt of lighting, not cause an explosion." Susan.

Will, still slightly annoyed that she was soaking wet at moment, just glared her mother as she asked, "And you did not tell me this last night because?" Susan just shrugged off the threatening tone as she responded, "Because I did not want you worry about it and be even less awake then you are now."

With that Susan dried Will off with little combination of fire and air elements, then set Will to work on getting the hang of simple lighting blasts. It was a little hard; since Will never had ability even remotely close firing attacks before, so the results were random to say the least.

Some times Will only had a few sparks come out, while other times she fired a blast that had way to much power in it. Some time the target she was aiming at cam to life instead of blowing up, so Will was a little freaked out as seeing that happen. Even if she did see her mother do the same thing yesterday.

It took all three hours that Susan scheduled to help Will get the hang of firing simple lighting attacks, but Susan knew it was because Will's powers were still stabilizing from being sealed away for thirteen years. Once they managed to settle down after another one or two more sessions, Susan knew Will should be able to at least try to manipulate the lighting to form a defensive barrier, maybe even try to animate objects.

"That was a good first training session Will. Once you get used to using the Quintessence element, I'll teach you something I think you'll really enjoy, flying." Susan said, smiling as she watched her daughter eyes widen is shock.

"F-flying? Do I get my wings back?" Will asked in a stutter. She liked the idea of having an ability she was familiar with back. Will knew she still had telatransporting of course, but finding out she no longer had her strength made her depressed, so being able to fly again was comforting.

Susan had to smile had her daughter's enthusiasm as she explained further, "Well first you have to finish getting the hang of your elemental power, then I teach how to fly. It won't be involving wings though." The last part confused Will, as Susan had expected. But the confusion ended the seconds Susan started floating off the ground.

"Um…is that way harder then using my wings?" Will asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice, but Susan just said Will would have to wait to find out.

---

A week later, in the Infinite City, Phobos was just finishing the preparations to awakening Elyon's powers. Both Elyon and the remaining Guardians were present for the even and said princess was standing in the middle of circle of strange marking. Phobos had explained it was meant to draw trace amount of magic from Meridian, which would 'jump start' the dormant magic in Elyon's body.

"When your ready dear sister, we shall being." Phobos said and he stood ready to begin the ritual. Cedric and Miranda had managed to gather some random people and some livestock to gather energy from. Not as much as Phobos had hoped for, but enough to satisfy the power hungry prince.

"I'm ready brother." Elyon responded and braced herself for what ever was to come. She had been told it may or may not be painful; it was hard to say since Phobos said it was somewhat random on what happened, from what he head in the texts. All he could guarantee was that Elyon's powers would awaken and that the ritual would not cause any physical damage. But wither or not there would pain on the other hand, was unknown.

'It does not matter though. As long as I get the power needed to bring peace back to Meridian, I'll pay any price!' Elyon thought in her mind, as her brother started channelling his energy in the magic circle.

After a few seconds a pillar of bright blue light erupted out of the ground, engulfing Elyon. The surge of power that flowed through her body was so intense; her body felt liked it wanted to explode! It was not what one would call painful, but it did feel like something was building up in side her and it wanted out now!

The other girls felt a bit helpless as they watched Elyon go through the ritual. They could she was struggling with something, but could do nothing but watch. This was especially hard for Cornelia, since Elyon was her best friends after all. They went through so much together, but was unable to do anything to ease her friend's suffering at the moment.

After a few minutes pillar finally died and cause Elyon to collapse to her knees. The Guardians rushed over to their friend's side, hoping she was alright. Phobos moved in a more clam pace towards his sister, but to make sure know suspected him of not caring he wore a mask of false concern.

"Are you alight my dear?" Phobos asked in a worried tone. How he hate this new addition to his act, now having to lay the role of the kind older brother as well as the noble prince. But it was a necessary burden to achieve his goals, so he knew to swallow his pride until the right time. The rewards were more then worth a little suffering in the grand scheme of things, if his plans succeeded.

"I'm fine Phobos, just a little tired. I just hope it worked, because while it was not painful, it was far from pleasant and I have no desire to do that again," Elyon asked in a tired tone. She was leaning on Cornelia for a support, since she did not feel she could stand on her own at the moment.

"The exhaustion is to be expected sister. The process is know to cause fatigue because of the strain it causes and assure you it did work, I can sense the power already starting to awaken. Once you have had a day of rest, we can begin your training. You now have great power at your disposal, so we must help you gain control of it as soon as possible." Phobos instructed, getting a nod from his sister.

With that the Guardians helped Elyon back home while Phobos said he would go report the ritual had been a success to the other rebel leaders. Once they were out of sight, Phobos' expression changed to an evil grin. 'How I do love it when a plan comes together. Soon my dear aunt and cousin, I will over throw you both and take my rightful place as ruler of Meridian.' Phobos thought evilly as he walked back to the rebel camp.

---

Back in the royal palace, Will was finally free of her weeklong punishment. Her mother even gave Will back her telatransporting and scrying abilities. Not that she knew what do with her free time other then stick with her mother all day…except when her mother had meetings. Will only stuck around for as long as she had to, because Will had no intention of standing for hours on end.

Susan found her daughter's antics amusing, though did admire her daughter's eagerness to commit to her studies and magic training. Will was having trouble mastering the next part of using Quintessence though, which was animating objects.

Will could easily control her lighting attacks and was able to learn to use them to create crude barriers with them, but bringing and control inanimate objects was still out of her daughter's grasp. Actually it was more of a problem of controlling the objects, then actually brining them to life, but Susan had been expecting this because of her own experiences with the element.

But Will had enough the former to satisfy Susan into teaching Will how to fly, which Will had minimal difficulty. Even though it involved using a levitating method instead using wings, Will quickly got the hang of it at and impressive rate.

Right now though, Susan was getting Will to deal with one little thing they needed to take care of. Getting her some new clothes. Susan finally had the time to arrange for a tailor to come in and take some of Will's measurements and offer suggestions to Will.

Susan had the perfect idea for something that would suite the times when Will would need to look the part of her role, yet at the same time make her feel comfortable at the same time, sorceress robes.

That was why Susan opted for them over gowns and dresses herself, since they were not overly casual, yet were not too formal. This made them perfect for her tomboyish daughter. Of course Will was not enjoying the fitting session, since she seemed to hate being used as a pincushion.

"I escape Hay Lin, only to end up in the hands another want to be porcupine," Will grumbled under her breath, as tailor made adjustments to the robe. Susan had gotten her daughter's measurements long ago, so the basic part of the robe was finished but the tailor needed to still make final adjustments.

The tailor did not hear Will's comment, but Susan did and was a bit amused by it, even if she did not know what a porcupine was. Of course Susan was having some annoyances of her own as well. Huggles was very selective on who could touch his mistress, which consisted of only it's self and Susan at this point and time. This meant Susan had hold on to said dormouse and keep its transformation powers suppressed. If she did not, Huggles would tears the tailor limb from limb for being near his mistress with out his permission.

Susan had looked up information on familiars, since she only knew the basic information on them and discovered a few facts. Familiars all understood basic speech completely, but despite this they did no always show it.

Some familiars displayed it perfectly some even gained the ability to talk, while others (like Huggles) acted more like the animal they appeared to be. Usually ones who acted with perfect intelligence were the ones who had a master or mistress who was going to have little or no guidance, while familiars who acted more like animals had ones who would already have the necessary guidance, but possibly needed a little extra protection.

It was very clear Huggles was in the second category since only had four basic reactions towards others.

The first was comfort, which was reserved only for his mistress obviously.

The second was tolerance, which he showed only to Susan.

The third was hiss and/or bite, which was for the majority of people.

The last one was what Susan called Frenzy. This was when Huggles changed into his powerful humanoid form, and proceeds to thrash, maul or mutilate any who had not heeded its warnings to stay away from his mistress, or had harmed Will in someway.

So far the Lurdens from a week ago were the only ones who got to the last reaction, but the tailor was coming close to be the second one to victim of it. The small rodent was proving this; from how it was thrashing about in the energy bubble he was trapped in at the moment.

"Almost done young lady." The tailor said, as he put in a few more pins into the fabric. The robe he was working on, once done, would also act as template for the others he would make as well, so he was being a bit picky about the adjustments. This particular robe had the same color scheme as Will's dress, red with gold trimming.

After a few more minutes the fitting was finally done much to Will's relief. She practically dove for her jeans and pulled them back, hating how it seemed every time she had a fitting (all be it, this was her second in her life) they needed her in her underwear to do it!

As Will pulled her shirt over her head, she glared at her mother who was laughing at her at this point, because of Will antics. "I don't know what you find so funny…your highness, but what ever it is stop laughing at me!" Will stated, having to retrain herself from saying Mom in the tailor's presence.

The tailor shot Will a scolding look, for addressing the Queen is such a manner, but Susan gave the tailor a warning glance to make him stop. The man obeyed instantly, knowing not to risk the queen's wrath since she seemed to favour this girl. Unknown to him, the reason would be made clear very soon.

"Now that you have all the adjustments marked, can you have the robe ready in three days?" Susan asked, as she released Huggles from his prison and let it rush over to Will side. Once he climbed up to Will's should he started hissing at the tailor once again.

The tailor ignored Huggles' threatening gesture and answered his Queens question. "I should have it done in two, your highness." Nodding her head in acceptance, Susan dismissed the tailor and waited for her daughter's inevitable question.

"Why do you need my robe done in three days mom?" Will asked, showing she was as curious as Susan had expected. "Because in three days it will finally be time" Susan responded with a small smile on her face, but it quickly became said as Will's face quickly became pale.

"P-P-Please mom, not yet. I'm…I'm not ready for that yet." Will pleaded, looking very scared at what her mother was suggesting. Susan could understand her daughter's reluctance, but Susan knew they had put this off long enough.

"I'm sorry sweet heart, but its time. We have been lucky the rebellion has been so quite lately, but if we don't act soon Phobos will and that will only make things worse. It's time every one knows you're finally home and at my side once again." Susan said, as she pulled Will into a gentle embrace.

Will did not saying thing, know her mother was right but she still wished she had more time. Will was scared how her friends would react, how Caleb would react to the news. 'I guess in three days I'll find out,' Will thought as she returned her mother's hug and hoped for the best.

---

"Why should it be a big deal if the Queen is making a special announcement in three days?" Cornelia asked. The rebellion had called an emergency meeting concerning the event that Cornelia was asking about.

All the girls were wondering the same thing. From what little they knew of royalty, mainly from fantast novels and movies, making public announcements was part of the job. Of course, they did not know much about Susan, so they not realize the significance of her doing such things.

"My aunt is not like most Queens' in Meridian's long line of them. She prefers action over words and rarely makes grand speeches, preferring to keep thing short and simple when such things our required. The fact she is giving it has so much attention and holding a small all comers jousting tournament to attract people, is also a usual move on her part." Phobos explained.

"Let's not forget all the messengers she sent to even the farthest villages had said she was asking for a cease fire until the tournament was over. The Queen's wants the rebellion present she makes her announcement. She even went as far to swear on the Light of Meridian that unless they have just cause, the guards will not lay a finger on us. That means even Prince Phobos could safely walk among the people with out worrying about being attacked," Caleb added.

This shocked the girls, the Queen was pretty much saying the rebellion should be present to hear what she has to say? What the Queen planning? There was no way she could have much to gain from doing such a thing no matter what her news was.

"So what do we do then? Do we go to this tournament or stay away?" Elyon asked, being very curious at what her aunt had to say, but worried what possible trap there could be. She knew that in theory, her aunt oath of Meridian's power should prevent any trap from being sprung on the, but Elyon could not understand why her aunt wanted them present at the tournament.

After a moment of silence, so the leaders could contemplate an answer to give Elyon, Phobos spoke, "Unfortunately dear sister, we must go even if we did not want to. To not go when our aunt has virtually guaranteed our safety, it would only play into our aunt advantage. I would make the rebellion look like cowards, which would not help our cause."

Everyone had a grim look on their faces at that bit of news. Maybe that was the Queen's game; make them look like cowards for not showing up and possibly discredit them a bit so Elyon's open support of the rebel cause would be less effective. The only ones who did not think that were Phobos and his inner circle.

'My aunt is finally making her move, she must be going to announce my cousin's indentify. Why she has waited so long I don't know, but that has to be why she causing such a ruckus' the prince mentally growled as the rebels, the Guardians and his sisters talked amongst them selves.

"Well then we can at least use this to our advantage." Caleb sated, drawing every one's attention to him, wonder what he had planned. "I'm entering the tournament. If I public humiliate the queen's supporters in the jousts and boost our troop moral, while weakening the Queen's forces. Plus what ever this mystery prize the Queen is offering might worth something. Even a rebellion needs money to by food and weapons after all." Caleb explained, getting a nod of agreement from all those present.

"A good idea my friend, at least now we have something to gain by going besides saving face." Phobos commented; glad to know that now going to this little event would not be a complete waste of his time now.

The rest of the people present agreed to this and plan and set out to get every thing ready for three days from now. Unknown to anyone present, this was the start of a chain of events that would alter the whole course of the war in ways no one could have ever guessed.

---

Any there you guys go, a bit boring compared to past chapter but I'll the next one has the anticipated moment of truth where every one finds out about Will true heritage. I'll try to have the next chapter out soon.


	13. Several Truths Reveled

AN I would like ot thank Knight for betaing this fic and would like to thank him, pottere1 and Wilhelmina Vandom for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 13: Several Truths Reveled

It was the day of the Queen's big announcement and Will could swear her stomach was doing sommersaults. Will had tried several times over the last few days to convince her mother to put off the announcement, but the older woman held firm to her decision.

Right now Will was now trying to get ready, or to be precise, get herself mentally ready for what could happen in the next few hours. She had been trying to do this since she got up that morning, but could not seem to convince herself she was ready for this.

"Will, can I come in?" Will heard her mother ask through the door, making the soon to be official princess jump a little at the sudden noise. After taking a second to find her voice again, Will gave her mother permission to enter.

"It would seem we still have to work on those mind barriers a bit, I was picking up on your mental pep talk for the last two hours." Susan said in a teasing tone as she entered the room. She let out a small giggle as she watched her daughter's face go pale.

"I…was…" Will started to say, her face now going to pale white to bright red as she blushed from embarrassment. This only made Susan giggle more, before giving her daughter an encouraging smile as she said, "Don't worry, I'm the only one who can pick up on it after all, and you're nervous right now so it is normal you accidentally broadcast your thoughts."

With that, Susan held out her hand to Will, signaling it was time for them to go. "The sooner we start the sooner it's over with, Will." Susan says to Will, who hesitantly takes the hand and is led out her room.

Both knew this going to be long day, but what they did not know is how it was going bring challenges to the new princess' life.

---

Meanwhile, Phobos, Caleb, The Browns, Elyon and the Guardians were walking to wards the jousting area, while under the close watch of the cities' citizens and guards. No one was happy to see the prince walk amongst them again. The capital of Meridian had one of the greatest concentrations of supporters for Queen Susan, so the rebels knew they had best stay out of trouble if they wanted to leave the town in one piece after this day was over.

"Are you ready for the tournament Caleb? We are hoping you'll win and get that prize. Maybe we will get lucky and it will be one of those prizes where you can ask for anything you want. We could have Will back in seconds!" Elyon said with a hopeful expression on her face.

Phobos had to roll his eyes at his naïve and foolish ways. How he would be glad when he could be rid of her once and for all. 'Our aunt would sooner wager the throne on a simple joust then risk her daughter being taken from her. But it does bring to question, what is this mystery prize? It will probably be announced before the first match so to motivate the contestants, but I still wonder what my aunt has planned.' The evil prince wonders as they make their way through busy streets.

As the reached the jousting area, Caleb went to go sign up and wait for his turn to come, while every one else went to find a spot to watch the tournament. They chose a spot right across from the stands where Queen would be sitting, so they could keep and eye on her but the same time get a good view of the matches.

Phobos noted that there to very grand looking chairs at where the Queen would sit, instead of just one. That only confirmed what Phobos had expected, his aunt was going to announce his cousin's return, there was no other reason for there to be more then one spot to sit in the Queen's private spot in the stands.

After a few minutes, trumpets sounded across the arena, signaling the arrival of the Queen. As Susan came into view, everyone saw Will following her from behind and were surprised by both what Will was wearing and the fact there was a gray rodent on her shoulders.

'Like mother, like daughter I suppose.' Phobos thought bitterly as he watched his aunt and cousin entered the stand and head for their spot. Phobos was mildly surprised that his cousin stood next her mothers seat instead of sitting down, but he assumed his aunt wanted to wait until she announced her daughter's identity before having her sit.

Raythor and Sandpit followed up from behind and too their places just behind the two chairs but still in plain sight of the crowed. Gargoyle then approached from behind that stand and towered over, as if keeping watch for trouble.

"Great the Queen has reduced out friend to a simple bodyguard now!" Cornelia growled out, getting a nod of agreement from Taranee and Elyon. The three girls glared hatefully in the Queen's general direction, but where to far away for the Queen to really notice.

Irma, Hay Lin and the Brown on the other hand where looking worried. The Browns' concerns were for their 'daughter' who never had in her life shown such anger or hatred before. Irma and Hay Lin on the other hand were worried about Will, was she really nothing more then a brainwashed puppet or was she siding with the Queen of her own free will?

They were glad if it was over their friend's own choice, since they still had a part of them that believed in the Queen more then Phobos. But the capture of the Vandoms did make them wonder if the redheaded girl was nothing more then a puppet on a string and the Queen was the one in control.

The two Guardians were quickly brought out of their thought as the Queen began to speak. "Good people of Meridian…and Phobos." The queen started off, causing most of those in the audience to burst out of laughing at the prince's expense. Phobos did not find it so amusing, nor did most of the group except for Irma and Hay Lin but kept their laugher hidden and under control.

After the laughter died down Susan continued, "I have arranged this little event to bring you great news. My daughter has been found and is among us this very moment!" This caused a loud gasp to come out from the crowed, they knew the Queen must have important knew to tell then but this was totally unexpected.

'How she find her!?' The girls all thought at once, worry if this would escalate the war to an even higher level with the other princess found and supporting her mother. Every waited in suspense, hoping the queen would announce point the princess to them, but all Susan did was take off her crown from around her forehead much to everyone's confusion, except Phobos' who knew what his aunt was about so do.

The crown then started glow and a second the Queen started to speak once again, "To assure you the child is my daughter, I have placed a special spell on my crown. It is one that proves one is the rightful air to the throne and if anyone else were to try and wear this while the spell is in effect, would be attacked by the power of Meridian its self. If the heir where to wear it though, it would shrink to match her head's size perfectly."

'I was right. Aunt Susan using the proof of succession ritual. Most likely so there can be no attempts to say she just choosing some other girl and saying she is the rightful heir. A bit over cautious on my aunt part, but a good move non the less.' Phobos thought, as he tried to think of how to adapt his plans to this.

"Now if my daughter would please put the crown on her head so we can end every ones suspense." Susan said as she turned to Will and held out the crown. Many were shocked at this sight especially the Guardians and Elyon. They knew Caleb was probably just as shocked knowing was listening from all the way over where the other jousters were.

Every one watched in anticipation as Will slipped the crown on. It slowly shrunk to the size of Will's head like Susan said it would and now sat around Will's like it was meant to be there.

The majority of the crowed burst out cheering at this sight, now knowing the Queen's daughter was back amongst them again. But the crowds cheering stopped when a bright pink shone out, one Will and Susan recognized instantly.

The second the light receded Cornelia, Taranee and Elyon flew up out from the people and were making their way towards the stand where Will and her mother were; with Irma and Hay Lin were close behind.

"This must mean you not under mind control." Elyon said simply as they got close, though Hay Lin and Irma were still a bit off since they had a slow start. Will could see the three that were in ear shot thought did not looked happy. The redhead thought this must have meant they were at least starting to doubt Phobos and was very happy because of it. Susan did not share the same feeling as her daughter though and was preparing herself for anything.

'I guess they must have realized a woman would never do that to her own daughter. Phobos your schemes are officially over!' Will thought happily as she responded to Elyon's statement.

"No of course not, I have always been on control of my own action from the start! I'm just glad…" Will started to say, but then Elyon fired a beam of white light, quickly followed by a few fireballs from Taranee and chunks of rocky earth from Cornelia, all of the heading for Will and Susan.

Susan quickly pulled Will behind her, while Sandpit moved to shield its Queen and princess but Gargoyle beat the sand creature to it. Gargoyle moved his massive metal club into the path of the incoming attacks, blocking them from reaching their targets.

The powerful beast then swung its club like hand upwards hoping to hit the three who foolishly tried to attack the two royals, but the trio of attackers moved out of the way to quickly from him to land a blow.

Meanwhile, Susan was checking on her daughter. The Queen of Meridian knew this sudden attack was going to upset Will and needed to calm Will down before she did something foolish.

"Will…Will answers me!" Susan said as she tried to shake Will out of the shocked state she was in. Will right now she was frozen with fear. Considering some of her closest friends just tried to barrage her with attacks, Susan was not surprised her daughter was acting like this.

Slowly started trembling, meaning Will's mind must be starting to come out its shocked state, much to Susan's relief. The older woman pulled her daughter into a hug hoping the comforting action would help bring Will back to her senses.

"They…tried to…attack you. Even though they knew you were my mother, they tried to hurt you." Will said, her voice was as shaky as her body was at the moment. It was easy to tell who Will priorities were on, which touched Susan at her daughter's concern but did not like the idea of Will putting her own safety second to her mother's.

"You and I both know they were aiming for both of us Will. I'll try to avoid hurting them since they are your friends, but I won't tolerate this attack on the both of us. Do you understand sweet heart?" Susan asked, hoping her daughter would not be to upset that her friends were about to be apprehended for their actions.

"No…" Susan heard her daughter whisper, bringing a sad smile to the Queen's face. She was hoping Will was not going to be difficult about this, but that looked like it was not going to be the case.

"Will, you know I can't just ignore…" Susan started to say, but Will interrupted her. "No…I'm going." Will said as she took of her mother's crown and left it on one of the seats. Susan was figuring out her daughter intentions when the redhead telatransported away, heading to confront her friends.

The royal mother was fighting with the urge to go stop her daughter, knowing the poor girl was now probably very angry and upset right now. Susan knew her daughter was as stubborn as she was at that age and once Will set her mind to something nothing was going to stop her.

'Will…be careful and good luck. But if your friends hurt you, I'll show them no mercy.' Susan thought as she watched Will reappear in the sky before her friends and was looking ready for battle.

---

As Will appeared before her friends, the redhead started to gather lighting into the palms of her hands, which shocked the three girls (no pun intended). "Well…looks like someone got an upgrade in ability. Was super strength to crude for her highness to use?" Cornelia said with a sneer as she, Taranee and Elyon backed off a bit so they had room to dodge Will's possible attacks.

"Why did you attack me and my mother? You now know she has never been controlling me so why do seem to still support Phobos! He is only manipulating you!" Will demanded angrily, furious at what her friends had tried to do.

"Because you're a traitor! All along we thought you were our friend, then we find out your related to that monster! I bet you've been supporting your mother all along, even before you knew of your heritage! It would explain why you never wanted Phobos to find me at first, so your mother would not be at a disadvantage!" Elyon stated and started to gather energy in her hands.

"Besides the only one who is manipulating people is your mother! Why would have the Vandoms taken you away if they were not trying to protect you? Or did the new powers, clothes and title make you forget all about those who raised and cared for you?" Taranee added as her hand became engulfed in flames.

Will anger grew at the mentioning of those two people who pretended to called them selves her parent and yelled back at her friends, "You have no idea what I went through for all those years being raised by them! All they did was…" Will did not get a chance to finish what she was saying as Elyon and Taranee opened fire at Will. The former Guardian reacted quickly to create a lighting shield to fend off the attack and was able to protect her self from the attack, for the moment at the very least.

"Ya we are sure it must have been just terrible to be raised as an ordinary girl, your royal highness!" Will heard Cornelia call out as she fended off the attacks. Will could not see that Cornelia was positioning herself to attack from below was because she was so focused on holding off Elyon and Taranee, but the redhead would soon find out.

Cornelia landed on the ground, just beneath Will and started to call on her powers over the Earth element. Large, thick vines sprouted from the ground and shot up towards Will, who did not see them coming. Susan, who was watching the battle closely was about intervene and save her daughter, when something unexpected happened.

"Water!" Will heard Irma's voice call out, which was followed by a splashing sound below her. This made Will look down to see the vines coming, but did not think she could move to avoid them with out getting hit by Elyon's and Taranee's attacks. Good thing for Will she would not have to.

"Air!" Hay Lin's voice called out and a powerful gust of wind hit the soaked vines and froze them in place. This made Elyon and Taranee stop their attack and along with Cornelia and Will stared at the other two Guardians in shock.

"Three on one, that hardly seems fair. Mind if we even the odds!" Irma said, than unleashed a water attack at Cornelia. Cornelia managed to fly out of the of the water blast, but was hit by a follow up attack from Hay Lin which slammed the blonde into the ground.

When the blonde finally recovered from the attack she looked up at them and screamed, "Why are you siding with her! She's the enemy!"

"Wrong Cornelia! The real enemy is Phobos and if you, Taranee and Elyon refused to see that, then we will fight you as well! We side with Will and her mother!" Hay Lin said firmly glaring down at the Earth Guardian, while Irma kept and eyes on Taranee and Elyon.

Will, over taken with emotion, telatransported over to her two best friends and hugged them. Tears were streak down Will's face, feeling so very relieved that at least two of them believed her.

These happy emotions were shared by Irma and Hay Lin and returned the hug. This caused them to lowers their guard, which was bad with enemies still present. Cornelia had taken out the Heart and turned off the flow of magic to Irma and Hay Lin and reverted them back to their human forms.

The two girls let out a couple of scream of terror as they dropped towards the ground, but Will grabbed onto them and tried to hold the up. It was difficult for Will to do since she had never tried carrying two people while flying and was slowing floating to the ground.

This would not be a bad thing in most circumstances, but with two other people preparing to open fire on them proved this was not like most circumstances. Taranee and Elyon send another barrage of attacks flying towards Will, Irma and Hay Lin.

The three girls looked over in horror as they saw what would have been their doom if not for Susan finally stepping in. A barrier surrounded the three girls, making the attacks bounce off harmlessly.

"I think that is quite enough!" Susan voice called out, before telatransporting in front of the energy bubble that had encased her daughter and friends. The Queen looked far from pleased, as she stood guard over the three girls, and was looking right at Elyon. The young was shaking under her aunt's stern glare, knowing the woman was making it clear that any further attacks would not be tolerated.

"Now…you three do release since you broke the truce first I am no longer bound by my oath, right?" Susan said in such a cold tone, the three attackers' blood almost froze in their veins. They had over looked this all important fact and now knew they were completely at the Queen's mercy, since all of her strongest warriors were here while most the rebellion stayed behind, so to avoid something like this!

"If I may offer a suggestion of a possible compromise to what ever punishment you have in mind, Aunt Susan." Phobos' voice spoke at he and the Brown come out from the crowd and towards the Queen, who was now just landing back on the ground and releasing Will, Irma and Hay Lin from the bubble.

Susan looked over to her nephew, knowing that while Elyon, Taranee and Cornelia were now unprotected by the oath, Phobos still was, since he never did anything to encourage the fight between the six girls. True he also did nothing to stop it, but he was still in no way at fault, so Susan was partially obligated to hear Phobos out.

"And what would this suggestion be nephew?" Susan as glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, knowing he was scheming something that would at least prevent her from punishing her niece and the two Guardians.

"A simple exchange. If you permit my sister and the Fire and Earth Guardians to walk away, all other rebel member must leave as well or be open to be arrested on sight. This way, assuming this has not been too much of interruption, will permit the festivities to continue with any more disruptions." Phobos explained in a reasonable tone, fitting for diplomatic discussion such as this.

Phobos was being reason able, a fact that Susan hated. He was offering his only protection in the middle of enemy territory for a onetime pardon for what Elyon and her two friends did. Susan could, by all rights refuse the offer and the three arrested, but Susan also considered this a chance to prove she was not as Phobos said to everyone.

"All right…you have one hour to remove your selves from the city. If you still remain after that, I assure you, the guards will make sure the next thing you see is the insides of the castle dungeons." Susan said and waved for him to leave.

Phobos then signaled for every one to gather around him, the Brown pulled Elyon close as she got near and while they were relieved she was not going to be punished, they were also upset with because of what she did. This was proven as they scolded her front of every, much to her embarrassment.

Will did not mind seeing any of them go, not until Caleb showed up. He was still in full plate amour and was looking ready compete in the tournament. 'Bet he would have won if he was still aloud to be here. Wonder what this mystery prize is that mom is supposed to be offering to the winner?' Will wondered as she and Caleb's eyes met.

They both stared one another longingly, until Elyon spoke up, "Caleb we are leaving, you can find a better girlfriend then her." Those words made Will feeling she was stabbed in the heart. Will's hand started to have sparks of electricity gather in it, due to the partial desire to blast Elyon for her words, but the redhead restrained herself.

"I would keep your opinions to your self Elyon. You're only leaving because I permitting you to or have you forgot about that?" Susan said coldly, making Elyon yelp with fright. The reminded was just what Elyon needed as Will and Caleb said their silent good bye.

Eventually Caleb looked away and headed over to the group. Will wanted to rush over to him and beg him to stay, join with her mother and leave the rebellion behind. But the newly revealed princess knew Caleb would never abandon the very group he lead and was forced to watch him get telatransported away by Phobos.

"I think the mood for a tournament has been spoiled, so I'm a afraid I must cancel it. I apologize for any inconvenience this causes any of you." Susan called out to those still present, who seemed disappointed but understood.

Susan then turned to Irma and Hay Lin and said, "Unless you wish for me open a portal to lead you home, why don't you accompany me and Will back to the place? I'm sure you all eager to spend some time with each other after being apart for so long."

These words made the pain of seeing Caleb go ease up a bit, since the idea of spending time with her two closest friend took her mind of those thoughts a bit. Irma and Hay Lin were also excited about the idea of being able to hang out again.

"We could have sleep over tonight! Oh wait you've been missing for a while, you might not be able to risk being on Earth…unless you want be invisible most night, if you can do that, that is." Hay Lin babbled in her usual hyperactive way, making Susan wonder if this was normal for the Air Guardian.

'Must be, because Will and the joker seemed to be acting like it's a common occurrence' Susan thought to herself as she watched Raythor, Sandpit, Gargoyle and a still tiny Huggles gather around the group of four females.

"Some familiar you have Will. It waits in the stands while you're off fighting; I think we need to give your 'bodyguard' some training on how do its job." Susan commented, getting hiss from the small rodent.

"It's her what?" Irma asked in a clueless tone. Hay Lin seemed just as curious, making Susan shake her head, knowing she was going to need to explain every thing all over again.

"I'll tell you when we get back to palace. You can also explain to what a sleep over is and maybe we can see about a way to let Will still come along with you to it." Susan said to the girl and they all headed back to the palace.

---

In Candracar, the Oracle and Luba were once again watching over the Guardians and saw these recent events. "The difference in belief has separated the Guardians! We should have had them turn over the Heart the second the Keeper was stripped of her powers, it would have been much simpler!" Luba stated, not happy that this had got have been the most unusual group of Guardians the council had ever had.

"True this is an usual case, but nothing I have not made preparations for. Please have the Aurameres ready for another transfer of mystic energy Luba. We need to insure the remaining two Guardians are not over whelmed" The Oracle instructed as he turned away so to make perpetrations for his next trip away from Candracar.

"How do you plan of getting the soon to be Former Earth and Fire Guardians to give up the Heart?" Luba asked, who got a very big shock at the Oracle response.

"Who ever said it was be the Water and Air Guardians to get the mystic energy?" with that the Oracle left a shocked and confused Luba to her work.

'The other two get the power? This is truly the most unusual group of Guardians to ever serve Candracar!' The cat woman thought as she made the preparations for the power transfer.

---

And the truth is finally out, hope you all liked it.


	14. Sleepovers and Family Reunions

Here is the next chapter of War for Meridian's Throne. I would like to thank Knight for betaing and would also like to thank him for reviewing along with Wilhelmina Vandom and Philip Gipson for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H., wish I did but I don't.

Sleepovers and Family Reunions

"So this is what it's like to come here without being attacked," Irma commented in her usual joking manner, as both she and Hay Lin were led through the palace by Will and her mother.

Will giggled at her friend's joke while Susan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The woman could tell that if these two, mainly Irma, came to the palace often, the Queen was going have to need earplugs.

'A person can only take so many jokes a day and this girl seems to find a joke in everything! I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried Will can handle it so well.' Susan thought dryly as she led the girls to a place where they could speak in private.

They eventually came to a room that overlooked the royal gardens and there was a small table with chairs for the group to sit."Please girls, have a seat and we talk about this sleepover you want to have. From what I can tell, you wish to have it on Earth. Is there a specific reason for this, or is there a way we could have it here instead?" Susan asked as the gestured for the girls to take a seat.

"That would be great if we could, but Hay Lin's parents call every fifteen minutes. Unless Hay Lin gets a cell phone plan that extends to Meridian, they are going to think she has been kidnapped or something." Irma replied for the pair, which had Susan raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's a cell phone?" Susan asked, while Will tried to decide if she should be embarrassed or not by her mother's lack of knowledge of things from Earth. "It's something people use to talk to each other from long distances away mom." Will explained in hope of answering her mother's question quickly enough so they get back to talking about the sleep over.

Will felt very excited to be able to go on one. In her old life, Will never even had friends or even get invited to come to a sleepover, so she really wanted this to work out and see what it was like.

Susan glanced at her daughter for a moment, noting the subtle enthusiasm in her voice. This made the Queen realize that this was important to Will and the older woman knew she needed to somehow make this work. 'I still want to know what this sleepover thing is first before I say yes, but if it makes Will feel excited it can't be so bad' Susan thought as she tried to find out about this little plan of the Air and Water Guardians.

"Okay, so from what you're saying, Meridian is ruled out for this 'sleepover' of yours. Tell me; exactly what this little get-together does, because I can't see you having much fun just sleeping." Susan requested, hoping to get a little more information.

"Well despite being called a sleepover, most people don't get much of that. We focus of food, movies and gossip." Hay Lin answered the Queen, who seemed a bit confused at the word "movies", but other then that seemed to understand what a sleepover was.

"Well…it does not sound so bad and if Huggles went along I'm sure it would be all right. I doubt you would be attacked in your own homes after all, and the three of you along with Huggles in his transformed state should be able to handle anything that might happen anyway…but Will is going to need to learn how to Glamour before she goes." Susan said after a moment of thinking the idea over.

Irma and Hay Lin were a bit confused by the comment about Huggles being able to transform and the Glamour bit, but were glad to hear Will was allowed to go and so was Will. "How long will it take me to learn how to Glamour? Whatever that is." Will asked, glad she was allowed to go.

"It's hard to say, sweetie. It's like you learning to telatransport and fly with ease, yet you had a harder time learning to use your elemental abilities. It depends if you have a knack for it or if you practice hard to learn it." Susan explained to her daughter then stood up and stepped a few feet away from the table.

"The basic idea is simple though. You call on your magic, imagine what you want to look like and then will it to happen," Susan said and a ring of green light formed around Susan's feet and quickly worked its way upward. After it was done, Susan now looked like a perfect twin of her daughter.

"And that's all there is to it!" The other 'Will' said in a voice that matched the original, Susan then changed back to her original form. While the three girls watched in amazement, Susan continued, "Of course, you don't need to copy an existing person. You could just as easily change yourself to look like a made up person or just alter things like eye, hair and skin color. This way, no one will know it's you, Will, and we can avoid any…unpleasant questions about where you and your 'parents' disappeared to."

The way Irma and Hay Lin heard Susan say the word parents made them worry. It sounded angry and hateful towards the thought of the Vandoms. The fact that Raythor seemed furious with the pair when he was taking them away in chains, also made the two girls wonder what was going on.

"Did the Vandoms do something? Besides take Will from you thirteen years ago I mean.' Irma asked looking clearly worried about what the answer would be.

Susan and Will did not answer right away; both just looked at one another as if having silent conversation, which they were. 'You should tell them Will. They are worried about you and they need to know. They might be able to force the words into the skulls of your other friends and your cousin. Make them see they were wrong in their belief about the Vandoms protecting you and actually hurting you.' Susan told her daughter with a telepathic message.

'I know I should but…it hurts so much to talk about it.' Will replied back, her 'tone' clearly afraid to speak of the horrible times, even to her closets friends.

Susan smiled sadly at her daughter, understanding her reluctance to talk about such things. 'I could tell them if you want. You can go to your room and practice the Glamour skill while I explain things.' Susan suggested and it seemed to help relieve some of her daughter's worry.

'Could…could you really do that? I don't want to be a bother.' Will replied back and got hug from her mother as the older woman's response.

'Your never a bother, Will, now run along and go practice how to Glamour. If you can do at least the basic idea down within an hour you can go to this sleepover. If not we will have to put the plan on hold until you can, okay?' Susan said into the mental link and got a nod form her daughter before she telatransported away.

Irma and Hay Lin just looked on in confusion, since they were out of the loop. "Okay…why do I feel like we missed something?" Irma asked Hay Lin who nodded her head in response. Susan smiled at their antics as she sat and got ready to explain what Will's life had really been like.

---

It took fifteen minutes to explain the story and give the two girls time to absorb the information. "She was suffering for that long and…we never even thought she might be in trouble? What kind of friends are we?!" Irma practically screamed as she slammed her first on the table, while Hay Lin was in tears. They felt like they had failed Will by not noticing the redhead was suffering in such a way.

Susan was glad to know the two deeply cared for her daughter, but knew she needed to nip this train of thought in the bud now before it caused trouble later on. "Now girls I want you to understand something. Will needs your support but you must be careful. People who have suffered like she has don't want pity and sometimes mistake concern for that. So be supportive, but don't bring the subject up unless she wants to. Having you two treat her like you did before you knew will help her a lot more, then when you constantly say you're sorry for things you had no control in, alright?" Susan told the two and they nodded their heads in understanding.

"Don't worry, your highness; we will be there for her whenever we can. It might be hard now that we don't have the rifts…oops! I don't think I'm supposed to mention that." Hay Lin said and clamped her hand over her mouth.

Susan looked confused at what Hay Lin was talking about, Irma on the other hand looked a bit upset, but not at Hay Lin. "So what if those three can't get back and fourth between Earth and Meridian anymore? They deserve it!" Irma stated firmly with arms crossed over her chest.

Susan looked back and forth between the two girls, trying to figure out what they were talking about. "Girls? Is there something I should know?" Susan asked, hoping one of them would answer, which one was glad to oblige.

"I'm surprised you don't already know from Will, but then again she might have been protecting us and Caleb so maybe I shouldn't be. For starters, Phobos has created this thing called a rift. It acts as a way back and forth from Meridian and Earth. It is how we have been getting around since we joined up with the rebellion. Phobos is worried that if you found out about it, you would make it impossible for him to use rifts anymore." Irma explained as she moved to make Phobos and her old friends' lives a living nightmare.

Susan was shocked to hear Phobos had a way other than portals to get between worlds. She knew Will probably had valuable information about the rebellion, but did not want to make her daughter to feel like she was being used to hurt the rebellion, since her friends and the boy she loved were a part of it.

"Well it's good to know this now, thank you…Irma was it? I'll have to see what I can do to put a stop to these rifts once and for all. If we are lucky your friends will be on Earth when I do figure out a way and they will be unable to help for a time. That should weaken the rebels for a little while at least." Susan said to Irma but noticed the Water Guardian was not through.

"Oh I got lots of stuff that would make the rebels' lives miserable. Like the rough location of the rebel base, they keep moving it but if I tell you where thry have been hiding I'm sure you could track it down." Irma stated firmly but then Hay Lin spoke up.

"Irma! Are you forgetting that Caleb is a part of the rebellion?! If you tell her about the Infinite City…me and my big mouth!" Hay Lin started to scold her friend, but then groaned as she realized she had let the cat out of the bag by accident.

Susan was really surprised at this news as she exclaimed, "How did Phobos find it?! The only two people who knew of its location was me and…Jaden must have told him!" This surprised the two Guardians, they did not know Susan already knew of the Infinite City or that this other person Jaden, who ever he was, had known of it as well.

"Who is Jaden?" Hay Lin asked, being the more curious of the two girls. Susan looked at the two sadly as she as she shook her head before saying, "It is a story that Will should be the first to hear in private. All I can say is Jaden was the one to find the Infinite City and later told me about it. You don't have to worry about me using the knowledge of the Infinite city to hurt Caleb; it's not time to strike the rebel base yet. If I did, it would corner Phobos and the rebels and then they would be really dangerous."

Irma and Hay Lin were confused at first when hearing this, but then quickly figured out what the Queen meant. Attacking the rebel base would take away their only hideaway and without that, they would become desperate. Even the most docile animal became dangerous when cornered and the rebellion was far from docile.

"Now, let's go check on Will. With any luck, she has gotten the hang of using a Glamour and can go with you tonight. Even though it can be tricky I'm sure Will should not have too much trouble if she is trying to do something simple." Susan told the girls and they headed off to go check on Will.

---

Will was in her room trying to think of what she should try to look like. Will knew she could not simply just change her hair and eyes color because anyone could easily put in contacts and use hair dye. That meant she needed something simple but looked a lot different then she normally did.

'Let's see…what should I use? Wait I know!' Will thought and tried to start the glamour. Nothing the first few times, but Will finally got something to happen just as she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in" Will answered with her new voice. The door opened to reveal her mother, Irma and Hay Lin. They stared at Will a moment, trying to adjust the new look the girl had chosen. Irma was the first to respond, which meant the comedian was going to have some fun at Will's expense.

"What did you did to Will? Answer me missy or you're in for a soaking!" Irma said as held her hand up like a gun and shot a gentle of stream water at Will's face. It scored a direct hit and caused Will to get a little annoyed.

"Irma, stop that." Will told her friend, but just got another splash in the face.

"Irma, I'm warning you!" Will growled in a warning tone, but Irma ignored at shot Will again.

"Knock it off or else!" Will yelled, loosing patience with the Water Guardian, but got shot for a fourth time and made Will finally snap.

"Quintessence!" Will screamed out and a blast of lighting zapped Irma for a few second. When it stopped Irma looked a little wobbly and her hair was standing on end. Hay Lin was about ask if Irma was okay, when the Water Guardian fell backwards and was staring blankly up at the ceiling.

While Hay Lin tried to revive the fallen joker, Susan looked at her daughter and said, "You might have overdone it, sweetheart." There was a clearly amused smile on the Queen's face, but Will knew her mother was cautioning her on using her powers in such a manner.

"I guess I kind of did." Will replied bashfully, while the older woman admired her daughter's choice of appearance. Her Daughter obviously had been paying attention to some of the old family portraits of when Susan was her daughter's age, because Will looked like an exact copy of those pictures.

Will's normally short red hair was replaced with shoulder length black and Will now had her mother's slightly more tanned skin. Both Will and Susan always had the same basic skin color, but Susan's was shade or two darker then Will's, so it helped give Will a simple disguise without changing too much about her self.

Will had even managed to get a younger sounding version of Susan's voice, so there was no way anyone would think it was Will. Elyon, Caleb, and the other two Guardians might see through the change, but they would not be so foolish to try anything on Earth. If they did though, Susan now knew where the rebels were hiding, so she knew what door to knock on if anything happened to her little girl.

"Well, it seems that you got the hang of using a glamour, Will. I guess that means you can go. You two better go check and see if this little idea of yours is all right with your parents first. I'll open a portal for you." Susan said to her daughter, then to Irma and Hay Lin before willing the portal to appear before the two.

Irma was still looking a little groggy, but looking a lot better than before. This was proven when she looked at Will and said, "And here I thought you were scary when you had super strength. Remind me to stay on your good side." This made the three girls laugh before the other two headed back to Earth to finalize the plans for tonight.

---

Susan left Will to get ready for the trip to Earth, glad to see her daughter so happy. Though she had not been in a condition that worried Susan, she had noticed Will had been a bit depressed at times since coming to Meridian. The Queen of Meridian knew it was because Will was missing her friends, so now that those two were back in her daughter's life the Queen was hoping the depressions would be less frequent.

"Your Highness, the metalsmith is here." Susan heard Raythor's voice say from behind her. Susan was a bit startled by this, but kept herself from jumping and turned to face her second in command.

"Thank you, Raythor. In the rush to get Will and her friends back here I forgot about him. I had my doubts when you said he worked fast, I thought he would have needed more time even if my order was a rather simple one." Susan replied to Raythor who grinned at his Queen's comment.

"Good thing you did not take that bet despite your doubts. I would be happily retiring right now if you had." Raythor said, which caused Susan to laugh as she had the powerful warrior lead the way to the metalsmith they were talking about.

---

In the throne a few minutes later, Susan was inspecting a golden circlet that had several small rubies imbedded in it. This was to act as Will's equivalent to a crown until it was time for her to take her place as Queen. Despite the simplicity, Susan had to admit the craftsmanship was impeccable and thought she should make further use of this man's abilities.

"Most impressive sir. What was your name again?" Susan asked the well-built man who was kneeling before her. "Aketon, your highness." The man replied; sounding a bit nervous at being in the Queen's presence.

"Aketon, I thank you for doing such an excellent job in such a short amount of time. Do you by chance have time to offer your services for a small assignment I need done? It is something that needs to be done fast, but also done well and you are the only metal smith I have seen able to do both." Susan requested as the man looked up at her with a curious expression on his face.

"The underwater mines' tools are in need of repairs. Though mostly criminals work there, it still provides valuable resources the kingdom makes use of, so giving them something decent to work with is beneficial for everyone. You'll be well compensated if you take the job." Susan explained, hoping the man would take the job.

Aketon looked worried at hearing he was being asked to willingly go to that dreadful place, but thought he might be of use to the rebellion if he could act as a go between with the prisoners there and the rebellion, perhaps help organize an uprising there and gain more members to battle the Queen's forces.

"I can spare one week a month, if that is alright with you, your highness." Aketon answered and got a satisfied smile from the Queen. "That would be fine. If possible I would like you to begin at once." Susan said and got a nod of acceptance from Aketon.

"Very good. Raythor, arrange to have Aketon to be taken to the underwater mines at once. Make sure have a guard be near him at all times for his own safety." Susan ordered her second in command and Aketon was led away to go do his new job.

---

Several hours later, Aketon was hard at work repairing a mining pick when he heard a fight break out between three miners. The guard assigned to watch over him went go help break it up, so no one was around when Aketon's shirt get caught in some gears that worked some of the mines' machinery.

"No! Help!" Aketon cried out as he was pulled closer to the gears, when a shovel was brought now to cut Aketon free just in time. "Thank you.' Aketon said to the savoir who was a man with a shaggy beard and only had a pair of badly torn pants for clothing.

Aketon looked at the man for a second and recognized him. "Wait…I know you!" The metal smith exclaimed in a quiet whisper, but before he could speak further the sound of a whip snapping in the air made the two turn to a see guard approaching.

"Hey you! Back to work!" The guard ordered the man with a beard and led him away. Aketon knew he needed to get out of here now and alert the rebels. This was too important to wait a whole week! So Aketon picked up the shovel the bearded man left behind and threw it into the gears that had almost killed him earlier.

The shovel was 'spat' out as is passed through the gears, but it did its task, damaging the machine enough for him to alert the guards that it needed repairs fast or production would come to a stand still.

Unknown to Aketon, the Passling Jeek, had been watching. He had originally come to trade for ore, but this little incident looked much more profitable. The only question was whom should he sell the information to? The Queen or Phobos?

"Queen be best. Metal Smith probably tell rebels so they might not pay Jeek. Queen will though!" Jeek said evilly as he ran off to inform Susan of what he had found out.

---

Back on Earth, Will came through the portal that led to Earth, her old back carrying a few clothes for that night. Will knew she could glamour up anything she needed clothing-wise, but it would have looked strange to come with out pajamas or a change of clothes.

Hay Lin said they were using her families' home/restaurant for the sleep over since it was the safer of the two. Since Irma's dad was a cop, they did not want to risk will getting grilled by Tom Lair if he thought Will looked suspicious.

Will was a bit worried about being near Yan Lin, since the old woman was a former Guardian and might notice the glamour. But Hay Lin assured Will it would be alright and since Hay Lin knew her grandmother better than anyone, who was the redhead to argue?

"Ready to go, Will? What are we supposed to call you while you're on Earth anyway?" Irma asked knowing that if they went around calling Will by her real name, the glamour might not as helpful if they did. It would raise way too many questions.

"Mom suggested something that should work. Alexis sounded good and it does not sound anything like my real name so I should be fine." Will answered her friend and they headed for the Silver Dragon.

As they entered the restaurant, Yan Lin greeted them. "Ah there you are, Irma! Hay Lin is waiting for you upstairs. And you must be their new friend, I don't believe we have been introduced, I am Yan Lin." The woman said and gave Will a small bow. Will could tell Yan Lin knew more then she was letting on and was probably waiting for a more private moment reveal that so Will played along.

"My names Alexis Smith, Mrs. Lin." Will replied nervously, not knowing whose side Yan Lin might be on. The old woman had been very supportive when Will was the Keeper of the Heart, but with what Elyon, Cornelia and Taranee did this afternoon, Will was a bit scared that Yan Lin might react in a similar way.

"Don't be scared child; no one is unwelcome in this restaurant…" Yan Lin started to say, but then noticed three figures coming towards the door. "But if a certain trio starts trouble, that policy might change. You two go upstairs and have fun; I have some things to take care down here." The retired Air Guardian instructed the two and ushered them up the stairs.

Just as Will and Irma made their way out of sight, Cornelia, Taranee and Elyon entered the Silver Dragon. "Can I help you girls?" Yan Lin said in polite tone, but the three could tell from the subtle looks she was giving them was warning not to mess with her.

"We are here to see Hay Lin and Irma; are they in?" Cornelia asked in a polite tone as well, but Yan Lin could tell the Earth Guardian was clutching the Heart that was hidden under her shirt. It was the blonde's way of saying, 'We will talk to them NOW!'

Yan Lin was a bit surprised by the Earth Guardian's strong and forceful approach. But the former Guardian was not going to give ground to a rebellious rookie. Yan Lin had faced worse the Cornelia Hale during her long career - both Earth and on other worlds.

"I'm afraid they are not here right now, out seeing a movie I believe. I'm surprised you three are not with them." Yan Lin replied, knowing they would not believe the excuse, but it was not like they would cause a scene. They were too smart to do that.

"That's too bad. Tell them we stopped by and will see them at school on Monday." Elyon said and gently tugged on Cornelia's arm. The taller blonde knew it was the signal to just let it drop and wait for a better time to confront the other two girls, namely at school where Yan Lin could not protect them.

"Careful you three, they have friends in high places now. It would be unwise to upset them a second time." Yan Lin said in a quiet tone, just loud enough for the three girls to hear. The trio of powerful magic users knew that is was a clear warning that they should not ignore and gulped loudly at the images that came to mind.

They quickly left and Yan Lin had a satisfied smirk on her face. 'That should hopefully remind them that even if I can't protect them, there are others to watch out for Hay Lin and Irma. I was hoping they would be closer than this, if only they had all sided with Will things would be easier.' Yan Lin thought as she headed up to check on the three girls not out for blood.

---

"Will, this is going to be one of the best nights of your life! We are going to party so hard it will make up for all those years you…" Irma started to say but quickly clammed up. It did not take genies to figure out what Irma was going to say, so the room had a bit of a sad aura to it.

"Irma…it's alright. You were only trying to be encouraging; I just rather forget about it than talk it about, though," Will said while she hugged herself. The other two girls wrapped their arms around her as well and had a group hug, which made Will feel a little better.

"Come on, let's picks some movies!" Irma said with a lot of enthusiasm and the three started searching through the Lin's video library. They were having the sleepover in the living room of the Lin household, where they would have the space and TV needed for the festivities.

As they started pulling movies out, Yan Lin entered the room with a menu in hand. "Alexis, or should I say Will? You don't need that glamour in here; my son and daughter in law are out of town so there is no need to hide. If you need to come downstairs you'll need to use it again though." The old woman informed the soon to be redhead, who nodded her head and let the disguise drop.

"That feels better, it's not hard to maintain but it felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. Like something was 'pulling' on me." Will said in a relieved tone, which Yan Lin chuckled at.

"You probably still have very small reserves Will. Unlike Guardians or your mother, you are relying on your own power and not a Heart to supply you with energy It probably will take you a while to build them up to make using a large amount of magic in a single day easier. That battle Hay Lin told me about probably took a good chunk of you so it made it easier to notice the glamour eating away at what you had left." The former Guardian explained as she set the menu down.

"How…How much do you know?" Will asked reluctantly, which confused Yan Lin. Hay Lin had limited the explanations to what had happened when the Guardians fought one another. The petite Air Guardian did not think it was right to mention Will's private life, mainly the uglier part of it.

"Will, I did not talk about the other stuff; just the fight. I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry." Hay Lin apologized while Will looked a bit more relieved while Yan Lin looked more confused and now bit worried now as well.

"Is there anything I should know Will? If you don't wish to talk I understand, but my door is always open." The old woman said in a comforting tone, which Will was glad to hear. She was worried Yan Lin would try to find out more, but that was not the case.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lin." Will replied and the girls went back to picking movies, then choosing what they wanted for dinner from the Silver Dragon's large menu. For Will, Irma and Hay Lin, the night was going to be something they needed to get a brief reprieve from all the battles. But soon they were going to get back into it and it was going to be a lot more intense.

---

"Do you know the name of the man the metalsmith recognized?" Susan asked the greedy Passling before her. Susan hated this particular Passling because his greed was greater than most of his kind, but he usually had good information and could not afford to let any of it slip out of her grasp.

"All names lost in mines." Jeek replied, while Raythor looked to his Queen and said, "He risked possible imprisonment to leave only for a few hours? Wh ever this man is, he must be important to your highness." Susan nodded her head in agreement and grabbed the sand for the viewing pool and cast it down to the throne room floor.

"Tell me when you see his face." Susan ordered Jeek who watched the images in the pool closely. After a few faces came into view and faded away, the one Jeek was looking for appeared. "There! There!" The green creature cried while Raythor scowled.

"Julian! But how can he be alive, all the reports said he perished in the battle at Grey Woods!" Raythor exclaimed in shock. Raythor and Julian were once good friends and sparing partners back in the days of Queen Weira's rule. But when Phobos started his rebellion against Queen Susan, Julian was among those tricked by Phobos to join his cause. The Royal Guard took a severe loss in morale upon hearing Julian had defected to Phobos' side.

"The battlefield is a chaotic place, Raythor; anything could happen amidst the confusion. What we need to worry about now is what are we going to do with this information?" Susan told her second command.

Raythor nodded his head and looked at the implications of this discovery. If the metalsmith was a part of the rebellion like they were now assuming, then he was going to try and alert the rebels. That would mean that Caleb, the rebel leader himself, would try and mount a rescue attempt. After all, what son would not want to save their father from imprisonment?

While they pondered this, Susan got a telepathic message from the one man she despised more than Phobos, the Oracle of Candracar. 'Your highness, I have something I must alert you of.' The Oracle said into Susan's mind, which almost made her yelp in surprise but managed to control herself.

'What do you want?' Susan spat back in bitter 'tone'. She was hoping to never see or hear from this man again, so why was he bothering her? He had Will's old powers, so there was nothing left on Meridian that he could want, with the exception of the war with Phobos to be over of course.

'I have come to inform you that you should start preparing some of that compensation I gave you for your daughter's time as Keeper. Two of the Guardians will need it soon.' The oracle explained before leaving the Queen's mind and leaving Susan confused.

'Why would they need those…no! He is going to take their powers away! I swear when the Veil is gone I'm am going to beat that man to a pulp!' Susan screamed in her mind before standing up to leave the throne room.

"Is something wrong, my Queen?" Raythor asked in a worried tone when he saw Susan's angry expression. He could not see how the topic of Caleb's father being alive would upset his Queen so greatly. 'Perhaps maybe she is worried what the princess will think if we use Julian to get to Caleb. The princess does have feelings for the boy afterall.' The powerful warrior concluded as he waited for a response from his Queen.

"The Oracle contacted me just now. He plans to…do something very soon that I do not like and must make preparations for." Susan explained as she made sure not to give Jeek any information he might try to sell to Phobos. There was no proof, but Susan had a gut feeling Jeek was the type to sell information to both sides to make a bigger profit and possibly extend the war as well. All Passlings were a bit greedy, but Jeek's type was well beyond even the Passling race's accepted limits.

Raythor understood his Queen's caution and immediately went about getting rid of the problem. "I'll see to it the smuggler is paid while you take care of this issue, your highness. Do you wish for me to deal with the Julian issue or shall we put that on hold for now?" Raythor asked as he watched Susan leave.

"I have an idea on what to do Raythor, come see me after you're done with the Passling." Susan replied without looking back, leaving Raythor with Jeek. Not the most pleasant duty he ever had to deal with, but he had worse…well maybe not.

"Let's go smuggler, I want you out of here so the air can become breathable again." Raythor grumbled as he led Jeek to go his payment.

---

Aldarn ran through the Infinite City trying to find Caleb. With what he heard from his father, Aldarn knew his best friend needed to hear this news right away. "Drake! Have you seen Caleb? I have something he needs to hear right now!" The elvin-like man called over to the blonde.

"I last saw him heading for the training area, probably trying to burn off some steam from what happened earlier. Can't blame him really, discovering the girl he loved is really the daughter of our greatest enemy must have hit him harder than anyone." Drake called back while he helped take down one of the temporary shacks that made up the camp.

With Irma and Hay Lin defecting to the Queen's side, the rebels knew they needed to move the base further into the Infinite City, just in case the Queen found out the current base's location. They were lucky when Will was originally taken back to her mother that the hiding place of the rebellion had not been exposed.

Many assumed it was the newly discovered princess' feeling for their leader that kept their base hidden the first time, but Irma and Hay Lin had no such connection to any of the rebels and they could not afford to take the risk.

"Thanks, I'll be back to help after I'm done telling him the news I have, but ready an emergency meeting of all the rebel leaders soon!" Aldarn called over one last time, before heading to find his best friend.

---

Unknown to anyone though, Caleb was about to vent more than just a little steam. Frost was entering the training area and was planning on mocking the boy who was practicing his swordsmanship.

"Must be hard being in love with someone you need to fight isn't it?" Frost said with an evil grin on his face. He loved getting under the rebel leader's skin and now that the truth about Will was out he had lots of things to use to do just that.

Caleb stopped his sword in mid-swing and glared at the muscle-bound warrior. "Careful Frost, you're treading on dangerous ground. Her mother won't fool Will for long. Soon she'll see her mother for the monster she really is and will be on our side again. Then Will can help us put Elyon on the throne and end the war once and for all!" Caleb growled at Frost, deep down hoping what he was saying would happen. He wanted Will back beside him again, where she belonged.

Frost just laughed at what Caleb said and replied, "You think the daughter of a power hungry woman like Queen Susan will give up all she has suddenly gained? She is just a step away from being officially named heir to the throne, do you honestly think she will give up all that power to be with a commoner like you?"

Frost's taunts pushed Caleb over the edge and he dropped the sword in his had to punch the larger man in the face. Frost had not seen it coming and recoiled from the force of the blow while he roared out, "Will is nothing like that! She is still the same girl I met in the castle dungeons! I saw it in her eyes!"

While Caleb was saying all this, Frost recovered from the punch and lunged at Caleb. The more agile boy dodged the charge and tripped Frost as he rushed past. "I'll beat some sense into you, you little brat!" Frost glowed as he got up and ready to fight again.

Caleb was now on the defensive, Frost was much stronger than him so there was no way Caleb could just block the larger and older warrior's punches, he needed to dodge them. If he did not, Caleb would get flattened despite being the more skilled fighter.

It was now mostly a battle of who would get who down first. Frost had not landed a single blow, but his nearly inhuman strength and stamina were keeping him from being defeated despite Caleb getting a few shots in now and then.

Aldarn came rushing in to see a charging Frost come at Caleb, grabbed Frost's punch in mid-swing and throw him judo style into a nearby practice dummy. "Okay, even by Frost's standards, that is no sparring match." Aldarn grumbled and ran over to put a stop to the fight before someone got hurt---mainly Frost

"What ever you two are fighting about, can it wait a little while? Caleb's father is alive!" Aldarn called out, making Caleb look over at his friend with a stunned expression on his face.

"He's what?!" Caleb yelled out, not seeing the massive object known as Frost's fist collide with his face. Caleb was sent flying several feet across the room and landed with a loud thud. Aldarn did not see his friend move an inch after landing, so in fury jumped at Frost with killer intent. It was his fault Caleb got hit so Aldarn was going to make up for it by fnishing what Caleb started; by beating the living snot out of Frost!

---

Caleb woke up in a cot with healers tending to the one bruise he had on the side of his face. Aldarn was getting treated for the large amount of bruises and the black eye he'd received from fighting Frost. Meanwhile, Frost was getting wrapped up like he was mummy. Frost was out cold and Aldarn was grinning while giving Caleb gave him a thumbs up.

"Sorry about getting you KOed, Caleb. I got him for you though." Aldarn told Caleb, who was chuckling and replied back, "Looks like he almost got you, you've gotten slower if Frost managed to land a blow."

Aldarn started to laugh, but stopped when he clutched his side and hissed in pain. "I…kind of tried going into a trading of blows contest instead of fighting smart." Aldarn explained while the healers finished treating the last of the winner's wounds.

"I hardly call having three of the rebellion's top warriors beating each other senseless smart by any means." The two heard the voice of Prince Phobos say as he entered the medical tent. He looked disgusted at the scene, not that anyone could disagree. This was not the best time for brawls since everyone was needed to help move the camp.

"I'm sorry, your highness. Frost and I were having one of our…disagreements and it got carried away." Caleb told the prince as he got up from where he was lying. Phobos accepted the explanation and glared at the still unconscious Frost.

"I told him to leave you alone about what happened today. I'll have to deal with him when he wakes up. Now let's move onto important business. I believe you have important information to tell Caleb, don't you Aldarn?" Phobos said.

"That's right, your highness. My father was hired to do some work in the underwater mines and…" Aldarn said as he started to retell the story his father told him about Julian.

---

Back on Earth, Will, Irma and Hay Lin were fast asleep with a movie playing on the TV when a portal quietly opened up. The Oracle walked through and stood over the Water and Air Guardians. "My apologies Guardians, but it must be done. The rules can confuse even me at times." The Oracle said before he called the mystic energy out of the Guardians' bodies.

Streams of aqua and sky blue energy flowed from the two girls and into the Oracle's hands. A few minutes later, a sphere of energy was in each hand and the Oracle walked back through the portal. The Oracle would then make similar visits to Taranee and Cornelia, but he would be increasing their powers, instead of draining them like he did to Hay Lin and Irma.

As the portal closed, Yan Lin stepped out of the shadows and looked at the now drained Guardians. 'They won't be happy to hear about this.' The old woman thought as she looked down sadly at the girls before going back to bed.

---

The next morning when the girls woke up, Irma and Hay Lin looked a little weak and it made Will worry. 'What's wrong with them?' Will wondered as she got up, Huggles climbing onto her shoulders as she did.

Will had noticed it seemed that Huggles responded to Irma and Hay Lin like he did to her mother. The girls could be near her and touch her without worry about the dormouse hissing or going all Kor on them. Like Will had promised her mother, (even if it was only a promise the two women had made) Will had given Huggles' transformed state a more intimidating name. Kor seemed like it could do the job and it sounded cool as well.

"Hey Will, what did your mother mean when she said Huggles could transform and that he was your familiar?" Hay Lin asked, her voice clearly not up to its usual level of energy.

'I hope it's just because they did not get enough sleep last night.' Will thought as she answered Hay Lin's question. "Well, from what mom tells me, Huggles is my magical bodyguard. If I were in trouble, he could change into this seven-foot tall humanoid beast creature and protect me. Not that he could have done much yesterday since we were pretty high up in the air and Huggles can't fly, not even when he is Kor."

"Kor?" Irma asked, wondering why the dormouse had two names, which made Will giggle. "Mom wanted the giant beast he turned into to have name that was less cute and seriously scary. I chose Kor since it was the first thing to come to mind." Will explained and now it was the others' turn to giggle.

"Ya, I can see why. I don't know what Kor looks like, but I bet Huggles does not suit that shape." Irma commented as they headed into the Lin family kitchen and got some cereal for breakfast. The food seemed to have give the two weak girls their strength back, so Will was less worried now.

'Guess it was nothing after all.' Will concluded, but then noticed a nasty and familiar smell. It made Huggles' fur stand on end and the three girls pinch their noses. "Blunk must be back." The three stated at the same time and then saw him just outside the window, holding two glowing diamond shaped pedants, one that glowed with a color that matched Irma's element and the other matching Hay Lin's.

"Get him inside so we can see what he wants and get him out of here before he hurts your family's business." Will told Hay Lin who eagerly accepted the idea and went over to the window. When it swung open, Blunk jumped through and landed on the kitchen floor and held up the two pendants to Hay Lin and Irma.

"Queenie tell Blunk to give these to you. Say they give you back powers after Oracle person took them away." Blunk informed the two former Guardians who were shocked to hear they had lost their powers. That would explain why there were so weak when they woke up!

Hay Lin and Irma both grabbed their pendents and each slipped it around their necks. They felt the energy of the pendants flow into them and restore their strength. "That feels better. Sure breakfast helped but this helps even more." Irma said in a relieved tone as she felt as if a missing part of had been returned.

"Ya it feels great! I think I feel even stronger than before actually." Hay Lin added while Blunk handed a note to Will. Will opened it to find it was from her mother and she read it aloud.

---

_Dear Will, as Blunk has already told you, these pedants will restore your friends' powers. I don't know why the Oracle took them away, but we will have to find out later. The important thing is your friends now have their full power now._

_Before, the Veil was weakening their powers, but now they have Meridian's power flowing into them and thus will have access to their full strength and all their more advanced abilities._

_The wannabe court jester will have mind infusing ability now. To use it, she need only focuse her mind on those she wants to effect and repeat in mind what she wants them to do. Tell her to keep it simple and it does NOT work on those with equal or greater mystic power or the strong minded._

_Your friend Hay Lin will be able to go invisible whenever she wants as her more advanced ability. I am sure she will have fun using it._

_If they wish to transform, tell them to say their element's name and then add Guardian. I know you probably feel a bit left out since you can't transform, but being at your full powers without doing so has its advantages, Will, I can assure you of that._

_Have fun on the rest of your time together, I'll come pick you up later._

_Love, Mom._

---

Irma growled at the court jester comment, which the other girls laughed at. Will was feeling a bit left out like the note said because she liked looking older and more beautiful. Will knew she could always use a glamour, but that wasn't the same.

'Mom's probably right about it being an advantage, but I still feel left out.' Will thought sadly then felt Blunk tug on her sleeve. "Blunk also hear big news when he left to bring pedants. Trade?" Blunk asked as Will looked down at him.

"For what?" Will asked, not knowing if she had anything she could offer for whatever this news was, but noticed the Passling staring at Huggles and licking his lips. Will was about to tell the smelly green creature off, when Huggles jumped of Will's shoulders and changed into Kor.

"Oh ya, he is defiantly a _Kor_ when he looks like that." Irma said nervously as Kor grabbed Blunk by the back of his shirt when he tried to run. The dormouse was defiantly smarter than the average animal because it did not like what Blunk had been implying.

"Maybe you should tell me the news before Kor eats you." Will told the Passling, who was nodding his head in fear.

---

"Well…that's one way to trade with a Passling." Raythor said as he and Susan looked into the viewing pool and watched Kor grab Blunk. They had paid him to deliver the pedants and make it seems he overheard the news about Caleb's father.

"Well at least he managed to make it convincing he had only overheard and had not been told to tell them. Had the Passling offered it for free the girls might have suspected something." Susan added, smiling a bit at the look on the Passling's face when his 'meal' showed it could bite back.

Susan's knew her 'plan' for Julian went against everything she was supposed to do as Queen, but the mother in her did not want to upset her daughter by using the father of the boy she cared about as bait.

'Let's see how Will makes use of the news, and then see what we will do in response.' Susan thought in her mind as she watched her daughter listen to Blunk's story.

---

Kor was keeping a tight hold on Blunk after he was finished, while Will thought the information over. Irma and Hay Lin could tell the redhead was torn between helping Caleb get his father back and being loyal to her mother.

"Will…we are behind you, no matter what choice you make." Irma said in a serious tone. Hay Lin also looked ready for action and Huggles looked at his mistress as if waiting a command. Will knew she had a team ready to help her make a jail break.

Will closed her eyes for a moment as she made the decision. Her eyes snapped open and looked at Blunk and said, "Alright Blunk, I need a portal ASAP! The rest of you, here is the plan…"

---

That afternoon, Will's team was sneaking up to the mine shaft, by using Hay Lin's and Irma's powers to create a bubble to travel under the water. The plan was for Will to focus her lighting attack to try and cut them a way in, but things were not working out.

"Darn it! Looks like we will need to make a plan B. If only Taranee were here! She's the one whose powers who can mimic a blow torch!" Will grumbled as she failed once again to use her powers to cut the pipe open.

"I would not be so sure about that Will. I hear wings beating right behind us." Hay Lin said then Will spun around to see nothing. "Hay Lin, I know we should trust your sense of hearing in most cases, but this time it flunked big time. Besides, even if they were here, do you honestly think they would help us, even if our goals were the same?" Irma asked her friend; Will was not so sure if seeing was believing in this case.

"Alright show yourselves or I start a lightshow. We all want to bail Caleb's dad out so I think it's in your best interest to work with us." Will ordered and Elyon, Taranee, Cornelia and Caleb appeared. Will could tell from how hard Elyon was breathing, she was the reason they were invisible.

There was dead silence between the two groups until Caleb spoke up. "Will…are you really trying get my dad out of there?" Caleb asked as he stared into Will eyes with a hopeful expression on his face.

Will looked away with a blush on her face as she said, "O-Of course. I know what its like not have your real parents in your life. I wanted to get him out of there before my mom decided she's going to just put him somewhere where even I could not get him out." Caleb gave Will a thankful look, but the two Guardians holding him in mid air and the still panting Elyon were glaring at her.

"Ya right. I bet you really just wanted to wait for us to show up in the mines and make sure we got caught!" Taranee stated with her hands on her hips, clearly not believing a word Will was saying.

"Taranee, we are standing over a lake, which in case you did not know is made up of water! Remember what my element is? And more importantly, what is does to yours!" Irma shot back at the Fire Guardian as she flew in front of Will in a protective manner.

"We are a lot stronger now Irma, so it does not matter if were are above a lake or not. What I want to know is how you guys still have your powers after the Oracle took them away! How are you even transformed for that matter!" Cornelia demanded as she took out the Heart to change Irma and Hay Lin back, but nothing happened.

"We are hooked up to a new source, Cornelia, so that won't work on us now!" Hay Lin told the Earth Guardian, but was worried about the news of the Fire and Earth Guardians getting a power boost.

If the Oracle did the same thing he did when Will left the group, then the raw mystic energy that was once Will's, Irma's and hers was now with Taranee and Cornelia, they were even stronger than anyone else here. Will would possibly be stronger than the super-charged Earth and Fire Guardians, since Hay Lin was unsure how Will ranked in terms of power, but it was probably not best to gamble on an unknown factor.

"Hold it girls! Take it easy. If Will wanted us captured what is stopping her from doing it now when there are a lot soldiers waiting for us among the reeds on the other side of the shaft? With that kind of back up we would be finished, no matter how much stronger you two have become!" Caleb pointed out, hoping to avoid having a fight breaking out when they needed to get into the mines.

This made the three Will haters see reason and Elyon held her hand out to Will. "Alright, we call a truce until we get Julian out of there. Next time though, be ready for a showdown." Elyon stated as she kept a close eye on Will in case the redhead tried something.

Will shook the hand and then looked to Taranee and said, "We better work fast, from what Blunk told us, my mom has no plans yet to come get Julian, but let's not risk her changing her mind." Taranee nodded her head in agreement and quickly started to cut the group's way in.

---

Once inside, it was a simple matter to get some uniforms to disguise themselves. Will had to use a glamour though because they were all too big for her and she needed to hide Huggles so that was the only way.

"Wish you knew what he looked like, Hay Lin, then you could scout ahead for us." Will whispered while those who did not know of Hay Lin's new power looked at Will in confusion.

"Um…when we got our powers back, we got fully charged so we can use our advanced abilities now. For me it was invisibility. What did you guys get?" Hay Lin asked as she answered for Will.

"Telekinesis for me and Telepathy for Taranee. What about Irma?" Cornelia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Irma looked at the blonde as if about say something that might end the truce so Caleb put a hand over her mouth, while Will answered, "She can influence people's minds, you guys are immune because of your magic and Caleb is probably too strong willed. And if it did somehow effect him, I'd kill her."

The not so subtle threat was clear warning to stay out of Caleb's head or else, so Irma held up her hands in surrender. This ensured the truce lasted and they went back to looking for Caleb's father.

They found him working on some rocks, Will told them about her original plan. "I was thinking of using a glamour to sneak him away to some place private so I could telatransport him out, but since we have an uneasy peace here, we might lack the trust for that." Will told the group. Those who lacked faith in Will seemed to agree with this statement, but Caleb spoke up again.

"Look, it is the fastest and easiest way out of here. Have a little faith in our truce for once!" Caleb said as quietly as he could without loosing the firmness needed to talk some sense into Elyon, Taranee, and Cornelia.

This gave Will the support needed to use her plan and quickly changed into a guard she had seen one time at the castle and went up to Julian. "They need more men down that shaft. Come with me!" Will ordered and made Julian follow her.

When they got back to the group, Julian gasped when he saw Caleb. For a second, Julian was worried when the 'guard' looked at Caleb, but then watched Will drop the glamour. "That was easy. How about we telatransport to the spot we met outside? It's the only neutral ground I can think of." Will suggested and everyone agreed while Julian tried to figure out what was going on.

But before Will could do anything, a group of people came around the corner. There were a total of four people, two guards and two miners, to be specific, the Vandoms. "You!" Tony roared as he saw Will's face and swung the pick he was holding at the redhead.

Will ducked the swing and it hit the wall, the two guards grabbed Tony, but that left Serene still free. "You worthless brat!" the woman screamed and raised her pick to strike, but Huggles jumped at her and transformed.

The Weremouse held the woman by the throat with one claw and held the other ready to strike, but the two guards started crying, "Monster in the mines! Send help!" It did not help matter that Cornelia was startled by Huggles changing into Kor and accidently caused an earthquake that shook the mines.

The earthquake made several cracks form throughout the mines and let water start to flow in. The cracks were not very big, but there were many of them and they would flood the mines in a matter of hours. This meant an evacuation would need to be done fast or people might die.

"With allies like these, who needs enemies?" Irma stated sarcastically and got a glare from Cornelia. "Well I'm sorry if seeing a rodent turn into a monster before my eyes freaked me out!" Cornelia spat back. The two were about to go at it in a classic Irma VS Cornelia argument when Will intervened.

"Easy you two, we've got bigger problems to deal with! If we don't get everyone out of them mines soon, a lot of people will drown. So let's get to work on getting the guards and miners out before the water floods most of the mines." Will said in hopes of getting some cooperation between the two groups.

"So we can get caught by your mother's loyal troops while we save their lives? Not a chance!" Cornelia hissed as the redheaded princess. This got Will looking real angry and levitated a few feet up, so to be at eyes level with the blonde Guardian.

"You're the one who caused this mess! So either help clean it up or else!" Will growled at Cornelia, who did not look like she appreciating the lecture. The Earth Guardian would have gladly argued back, but Elyon stepped in.

"She's right, Cornelia. We've got to fix this before people get hurt. Don't forget it's your duty to protect the innocent and there is bound to be a few innocent people down here." The other princess of Meridian reminded her best friend and Cornelia stood down.

"Fine, lets get moving then."

---

Once the guards found out the Queen's daughter was there to help, it was easy to organize everyone and start moving people to the surface. The process was slow, since the majority of the miners were criminals and needed to be moved out carefully, but it still went smoothly. It was easy to keep the inmates in line with so many magic users and guards around.

Caleb kept himself and his father out of sight as much as possible, so no one would recognize the rebel leader. It also made it possible to make sure Julian was not escorted out with the other prisoners. If that happened, there might not be a second chance to get Julian back and Caleb would not risk that happening.

"So Caleb, you have...feelings for the Queen's daughter?" Julian asked, giving his son a small grin. The former rebel leader was not normally one to condone relationships between enemy groups, but his time in the mines gave him time to think about things.

Seeing who the Queen preferred to sentence to come to the mines made him wonder how 'evil' the woman truly was. It was true rebels were brought down to this forsaken place, but there were far more who certainly deserved to be in this accursed mine. Murdered, rapists and other such people greatly out numbered the rebel population. For the most part, rebels seemed only brought into the mines when there was no place to put them.

'You would think a Queen that murdered her sister would want her enemies breaking their backs and risking their lives down here, instead of being inside ordinary prisons. True I heard many rebels were sent to work camps, but those camps are much safer than this place.' Julian contemplated as he waited for his son's response.

Caleb blushed as he looked away and said, "B-Back before anyone, including Will, knew she was the heir to the throne, she was the Keeper of the Heart and leader of the Guardians. During that time, we became...close. Shorty after we started to truly become a couple, everything went out of control. Phobos said Will tried to kill him and that she was under a spell, but then we find out she Queen's Susan daughter." Caleb explained, but could not go into further detail because Will appeared in front of them.

"Okay, this is our chance to get you two out of here. If I telatransport both of you into the water, can you both make it to the shore on the far side of the lake?" Will asked and got a nod from both father and son.

"Don't worry about us, Will, we can mange...and Will...stay safe." Caleb told the redhead who blushed a bit at his concern. "I-I will Caleb. It's not like Huggles, in either of his forms, will let anything happen to me anyway." Will replied as Kor ran up to the three people and reverted back into his Huggles form.

Huggles then scampered up onto Will's shoulders and waited for his mistress to work her magic, while Elyon, Taranee and Cornelia gathered near. They would have flown Caleb and Julian ashore, but they were all worn out from helping clear out the mine.

"It's too bad you sided with your mother, cousin. We make a pretty good team." Elyon commented in a somewhat friendly tone. There was still clear sign of mistrust in Elyon's voice, but at least it was better than when they began this mission.

Cornelia was giving Will the cold shoulder, but Taranee just seemed lost in thought, so Will was unsure about the fire Guardian's feeling towards her. "Taranee, is everything alright?" Will asked in a concerned tone of voice, which snapped the Fire Guardian back to reality.

"Y-Ya, everything is fine Will. Just feeling like I forgot something, probably just something I needed to do back on Earth. Too bad you can't just open portals, it would make the trip faster and drier for us." Taranee answered, not voicing her real concerns.

'The Vandoms were so hostile when they saw Will, why? It makes no sense.' Taranee thought as Will stared at the fire Guardian in shock.

Will had not even considered the idea of opening her own portals before.

'I think I did open a portal once though, back when I escaped Phobos after he found me eavesdropping on his meeting with his goons. But can I do it again?' Will wondered and turned away from the group.

Everyone was confused at what the redhead held out her hand and waved in the air. But before anyone could ask what she was doing, a portal opened up in front of Will. "I did it!" Will cheered and the others stared in shock.

"Why didn't you say you could do that earlier?!" Cornelia demanded while Will held up her hand in a defensive gesture. "Taranee gave me the idea; I did not know I could actually do though. It was a lucky guess!" Will stated in her defense.

Before Cornelia could start ranting again, Caleb placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and said, "Let's just be glad she could do it. Let's use it, get back to the bookshop, and then return to the base." The suggestion calmed Cornelia down and marched through the portal as quickly as she could, clearly trying to get away from Will as soon as possible.

The others used the portal and Will watched it close up, most likely thanks to Cornelia using the Heart. 'Goodbye, Caleb. I hope we can meet again soon.' Will thought as she went to go see Irma and Hay Lin.

Will found them very quickly, unfortunately she also found her mother with them as well. "Well, I see you are all here. Mind telling me why you are in here to begin with?" Susan demanded, not letting on she had known all along and had secretly encouraged the plan. Susan knew she could not let her daughter know of her mother's involvement in getting Will to free Julian. Not until they were in private.

Until then she would have to grill the three girls, or people might wonder what was really up. 'The hard part of being both a mother and a Queen.' Susan mentally sighed as she went about her act, much to Will's, Irma's, and Hay Lin's dismay.

---

Well, there you go. Hope you all liked it.


	15. Happy Belated Birthday, Will

Once again, I would like to thank KnightofFaerun for both beta reading and reviewing this story. I would also like to than Philip Gipson, Lilly Tiger, JCE1985 and Newbee for reviewing as well.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 15: Happy Belated Birthday, Will

Will, Huggles, Irma and Hay Lin shifted uncomfortably under Queen Susan's gaze. They were unsure how to answer, since the original plan was to get out without being seen. They never tried to come up with a cover story, so they were in big trouble at the moment.

"I'm waiting." Susan stated firmly, though inside she was hoping they would say anything so she could get this facade over with.

'At least they managed to get Julian without the guards realizing it. The last thing Will needs is to be declared a traitor when she was only doing what I wanted her to…even if she does not know it.' Susan thought as she waited for the girls to give her a reason as to why they were in the underwater mines.

"We…We heard from Blunk that the rebels were coming down here for some reason, so we thought we would check and see if it's true. Well…we found them…not sure what they wanted though, the flooding caused too much chaos to question them," Will responded to her mother. The story was rather convincing, much to Susan's relief. It made it easier to be lenient with Will and her friends with that kind of explanation.

Of course, Susan still needed to be a little hard on them, just so no one suspected the Queen had influenced their little expedition into the mines. "Be that as it may, you could have just told me they were going to be here, Wilhelmina, not go charging in here on your own!" Susan stated in fake anger, thought no one suspected it.

The Queen then opened a portal and said, "You two go home, my daughter and I need to have a long talk back at the palace." Susan ordered Hay Lin and Irma, who gave their friend a sympathetic look as they did as they were told. They both had a feeling a long grounding was in store for Will in the near future.

'Compared to what Will used to have as punishment for things, I guess a normal grounding should be nothing.' Irma thought as she and Hay Lin left Meridian and watched the portal close behind them.

"You think Queen Susan will be hard on Will?" Hay Lin asked in a worried tone.

Irma looked back at her friend and said sadly, "I don't know Hay Lin. All we can do is hope that Will gets off easy. She did help save a whole mine filled with people after all, that's got to count for something."

With that the two headed back to the Silver Dragon, they knew it would be best to talk to Yan Lin about Taranee and Cornelia's upgrade in power. To be precise, they needed to know if there were ways to fight opponents with more power than they had.

Earth and Fire had more attack power than Water and Air under normal circumstances, but now the Earth and Fire Guardians had roughly twenty five percent more raw magic power than Irma or Hay Lin did. Neither girl was very good at math but they both could easily figure out much how more power their old friend now had.

'Things just got a lot harder now that Taranee and Cornelia can outclass us in power. All we can do is hope there is a way to at least keep up with them,' Irma concluded in her mind as she and Hay Lin made their way to their destination.

---

Will had shut her eyes tight as her mother telatransported them back to the palace, bracing herself for a very loud and stern lecture, but was shocked to get a hug instead. 'W-W-What's going on?' Will mentally stuttered as she tried to figure why the motherly embrace instead of a verbal assault.

"I'm glad you're alright after what happened down there, Will. If you got hurt because of my plan, I would have never forgiven myself!" Will heard her mother exclaim as she crushed Will in the loving embrace.

"Mom…what are to talking about?" A confused Will asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

Susan broke away from her daughter smiled at her kindly as she replied, "Will, I wanted you to know Julian was in the mines. I couldn't just release him outright, not without abandoning my duties as Queen. But on the other hand, getting that Passling to inform you of Julian being there and having you rescue him is another matter. I can use a few loopholes to protect you and your friends if anyone realized you helped a prisoner escape."

Will was shocked to hear this; her mother had been (to a small degree) manipulating her to help Julian escape? 'Why would mom do that?'

"If you wanted me to free Julian all along, couldn't you have told us what you wanted us to do and to pretend we were acting on our own?" Will asked, feeling a little hurt her mother felt she had to manipulate her own daughter to do something.

Susan smiled apologetically at Will as the Queen explained further, "I needed to make sure no one suspected you were acting on my orders in the slightest, Will. It would cause confusion in the ranks if anyone suspected me of releasing such an important prisoner on purpose. Fortunately, your story that you used in the mines, along with your exploits in helping the people during the flood, has virtually prevented people from ever suspecting you."

Will listened to her mother's explanation and seemed satisfied, but it still hurt. Susan sensed this and pulled her daughter back into a hug, in an attempt to comfort the redhead. "I know its confusing and even a bit painful Will, but that is how things are sometimes when you're of a certain status. Personal desires sometimes conflict with duty and politics and you have to sometimes be clever on how you deal with them," Susan told Will as she rocked the young girl back and fourth.

After a few minutes, Will felt a bit better but it would take a while before the redhead fully forgave her mother for what happened. But now that Will fully understood her mother's reason, she could note bear to hold much of grudge against the ruler of Meridian.

While Will relaxed in her mother's arms, Susan was preparing herself for several topics she needed to discuss with her daughter. 'I'll get the more official business dealt with first, then I'll talk to Will about her father. It's about time she knows and I'm certain she'll start to wonder about him sooner or later,' Susan concluded mentally as she braced herself for the discussion to come.

"Will, there are a few things I need to talk to you about. The first of which is your birthday," Susan said as they broke from the hug. Will looked confused at this topic, since her birthday had been several months ago. Before Will could ask though, Susan explained further.

"I know its more than a bit late to celebrate your actual birthday, but I was thinking of holding a belated celebration. You see Will, the jousting tournament two days ago was more than a way to draw people to my announcement, it was to also choose your companion for your birthday celebration. That was what the mystery prize was," Susan explained and quickly braced herself when she saw her daughter's face go red.

"WHAT!? How could you set me up with a total stranger!?" Will screeched out, just like Susan had expected. Susan had reacted the same way when her own mother pulled such stunts in hopes of getting her daughter to consider possible candidates to be her husband.

For members of the royal family, the process began at thirteen and the prince or princess usually chose their partner by eighteen or twenty. Since Susan had been second in line for the throne, she did not take the selection as seriously as her mother had hoped, so the woman often held contests before grand celebrations and offered Susan's companionship to these events as the prize.

It was the long since deceased woman's intention to get her daughter to actually talk to her suitors and hope her headstrong daughter to at least consider some of them. Susan often got furious with these tactics and reminded her mother the dangers of angering someone with all five elements at her command.

Susan had no intention of doing things to her own daughter though. The dark haired woman had more reasonable plans behind her actions than choosing a random boy to be near her daughter.

"Will, hear me out. You recall it was a jousting tournament correct? Who do you know who is a skilled jouster and is virtually undefeated?" Susan asked her daughter, hoping the angry redhead would realize whom she was subtly hinting at.

It took Will to realize her mother intentions and her face went redhead again, but this from embarrassment instead of anger. "Stay out of my love life!" Will grumbled as she looked away from her mother, but Susan could tell her daughter was have a few pleasant fantasies going through her mind right now.

"I'll try sweetie, but as you know, inviting the rebel leader outright is a little unusual. Having him win the right to be your companion would have made things much simpler. If it makes you feel better, your grandmother did worse to me. She just wanted a man, any man who could win to be my companion, though she did not like who I chose in the end," Susan replied, gently easing her daughter into the next topic.

Will's head quickly turned to look back at her mother, just now realizing how she knew practically nothing of her real father. 'I never even thought to ask' Will thought as she asked her mother, "What was Dad like?"

Susan smiled at her daughter as she called up old memories of her husband. "Your father was of the…lower class, something your grandmother did not approve of. His fighting style only contributed to this. It was called Tiger Claw, a style where the user often mimicked the leaping movements of most predators. As you can guess; your father was very strong and fast, yet despite it all, he was very kind and gentle when not fighting," Susan explained, leaving out an important detail about Will's father that the Queen was not sure if Will was ready for.

It was the main reason why Susan's mother despised the man, but Weira was Queen when Susan and Jaden had tried to marry and their mother was very ill, so the former Queen could do nothing to oppose the marriage.

'I don't think Will would react badly to the news, but I'll put off telling her until I can better guess her reaction.' Susan concluded while she let her daughter soak in the information she had been given.

"Dad sounded like he was a good person. Wish I got to meet him," Will said sadly and looked down at her lap. Susan pulled her daughter back into a hug and said, "I wish you could have to. He was a great man and would have been a huge help right now. He would have probably made your transition from normal girl to princess much easier, since he was once in your position when we first married."

Will looked up at her mother; a small smile on her face as she said, "That would have been nice. At least with Irma and Hay Lin around it's a bit easier now." Susan just smiled down at her daughter, but said not a word as she rocked Will back and fourth once more. There was no need for words now, just a little quiet time between mother and child.

---

Caleb, Julian, Elyon and the remaining two Guardians entered the recently moved rebel base, with everyone cheering at the return of the first leader of the rebellion. Julian found it a bit overwhelming since he had been used to keeping a low profile for years, but was still glad to be free once again.

"Julian my friend, its good to have you back," Phobos said as he approached Julian. The former rebel leader felt a bit wary of the prince, now that he was questioning much of what the prince had told everyone, but hid it well as he returned the greeting.

"I am glad as well, my prince. I'm not sure of how much use I'll be after all these years, but I'm eager to get back into the fight once again," Julian replied, getting a nodded from Phobos in agreement.

"Of course, but I suggest you stick to helping in a strategic manner than actually combat. As you have already said, it has been years since you have held a sword, letss give you time to build up your skills once more before you see the battlefield again." Phobos said, knowing even if Julian was limited in that capacity, the man would be invaluable. After all, Caleb was as good as he was by learning from his father, so having two warriors with that level skill in planning sessions was a dangerous combination.

Julian nodded his head in agreement while Caleb spoke up. "My lord, it has been a long day. I think I should show my father to his tent and then the rest of us need to head back to Earth." Caleb told the prince, who agreed to this as well.

After Julian was shown to his tent, Caleb and the girls stood ready to leave as Phobos started to activate the rift. But to everyone's shock, nothing happened. "Three words: Hay Lin and Irma!" Cornelia growled just loud enough for Taranee, Elyon and Caleb to hear.

"My money is actually on Irma, she is the more vindictive of the two. Hay Lin does not have a mean bone in her body." Elyon said to Cornelia, knowing the former Water Guardian would jump at the chance to make things harder for them.

"How about we worry about getting back home before our parents notice we are gone, and then worry about who told Queen Susan about the rift," Taranee suggested, looking a little nervous right now. They had been used to being able to come and go as they pleased, but now they were going to be heavily reliant on portals now.

With what Taranee could tell, if Will was able to open portals, then Queen Susan was bound to be able to do the same. It was also most likely that Susan and Will could close them as well, so that would mean they could be stuck on Earth or Meridian for great lengths of time.

'It's official, we are in big trouble.' Taranee concluded while Caleb went to go see if he could track down Blunk or another Passling to find a portal back to Earth.

---

Back at the Silver Dragon, Irma and Hay Lin were telling Yan Lin what had happened. The former Air Guardian was glad to hear the girls had their powers back, but was a bit worried as well. It would mean the girls could be fighting one another very soon; something the old woman would hope did not come to pass.

"It seems you girls have had quite the adventure. I hope you both will use your new powers responsibly…that means no brain washing the teachers, Irma." Yan Lin said as she eyed the newly reinstated Water Guardian, who was crossing her arms and grumbling out, "Spoil my fun."

Hay Lin giggled at her friend's expense before asking her grandmother, "Do you think Queen Susan will go easy on Will? She was the one who managed to get all of us working together in the mines afterall."

Yan Lin closed her eyes, as if in deep in thought before answering, "Hard to say. Queen Susan is in a delicate position when it comes to Will. She must encourage Will to take initiative so Will can one day rule in her mother's place. Yet at the same time, make sure Will does not make choices rashly, since it might accidentally undermine her mother's authority at the same time."

Irma and Hay Lin now felt very sorry for Will. They imagined the poor redhead was getting the sternest lecture in the universe right now. They would know otherwise very soon. When they arrived home (in Hay Lin's case, went to her bedroom) they found a note that explained a few things and some instructions for six days from now.

---

It took a few hours, but Caleb managed to track down Blunk and get him to find a portal to help the girls home. With the loss of the rift, Caleb suggested he remain on Meridian instead of being Elyon's bodyguard. A leader who could not be around when needed was no good to the rebellion, so everyone knew it was for the best.

At the moment, he was sparring with his father, trying to get the rusty warrior back up to his original level of skill. As Julian blocked an overhead swing from his son, the older warrior said, "You have either improved greatly since I have been gone or I have gotten weaker than I thought!"

Caleb smirked at his father's comment as he him pushed away and said, "Maybe you're just getting old dad!" Julian's response to the verbal jab was a strong sword swing that nearly knocked Caleb off balance, a lesson to the young man to never use the "O" word again.

As the two blocked, slashed and parried, father and son continued talking. "While you were out finding a Passling, we got word of something interesting happening at the castle. It seems the Queen is holding a belated birthday celebration for her daughter, most likely to get her among the nobles and start getting to know them. Possibly get her looking for a suitable husband in a few years." Julian told his son as they fought, mentioning the last part on purpose as a means to completing his revenge for the 'old' comment.

Of course, this meant it was Julian's turn to be knocked off balance as he tried to fend off a series of brutally strong sword swings. "She. Would. Never. Do. That!" Caleb growled at out with each swing. Julian was surprised neither sword was shattered from the force of the blows.

'And here I thought I got mad at hearing me being called old. Better be careful what I say about the princess in front of my son.' Julian concluded in his mind as he kept up his defense against his annoyed son.

"Anyway, it could make for a very opportune moment for the rebellion if someone were to go…check on the festivities. Nobles tend to be very loose lipped at such gatherings. Someone could also confront the princess herself if people relaxed their guard later in the evening." Julian continued to explain, hoping his son would settle down soon, before one of them got hurt. Mainly himself.

Caleb stopped his attack for a moment as he realized what his father had been implying. "I don't think many would approve of me being near Will at the moment. I'm too emotionally involved." Caleb responded as he blocked his father's incoming attack. Julian wanted to take the offensive while Caleb had stopped; it was safer that way.

"If I know you as well as I did years ago, I don't think you'll care what other people believe and do what you want to do." Julian commented as they continued the sparring session, getting only a grin from his son in response.

---

For the second time in over a week, Will was in front of her mirror getting ready for the evening's festivities. Will was wearing her red medieval style dress in place of robes, feeling it was better suited for evening wear for some reason. Around her head was the circlet Aketon had made, completing the outfit and making Will look like a real princess.

'The tournament made me feel less nervous, probably because all I had to do that day was smile and watch people beat on each other with lances. This time I have to actually meet people face to face. I bet they will be watching my every move.' Will thought as she smoothened out the imaginary wrinkles in her dress.

After a few more minutes, Will finally gave up and headed for the door to her room. As she opened it, she found her mother waiting for her. "Ready sweetheart?" Susan asked Will, who was still looking a little surprised of her mother being there already.

"As ready as I will be," Will replied in a quiet voice, once she managed to find it again. This made Susan smile gently at her daughter and took her by the hand.

"Don't be scared, Will. All you have to do is sit and greet a few people. Normally a princess is encouraged to dance with a few of the young men present, but I think we can skip that for at least this celebration. You're probably feeling a little too uncomfortable as it is, so dancing with boys you don't even know is out unless you want to," Susan told her daughter as they made their way down the castle corridors.

Will felt a bit relieved to hear this. If she could stay close to her mother as much as possible, then maybe she could survive this evening after all. 'With Raythor, Sandpit and Gargoyle focusing on security, mom is the only one I can stick close to at this party, with the exception of Huggles but he does not count,' Will thought as she and her mother headed for where the celebration would be held.

---

What Will did not know was that there would be others she did know attending her belated birthday party. The first of which was Irma and Hay Lin, who were just coming though a portal that was not too far from the palace.

Both were wearing the medieval style dresses they wore at Elyon's celebration and were each holding a gift in their arms. "Think we should transform and fly the rest of the way so we don't get dirty?" Irma asked as she gestured to the small journey they needed to make along the dirt road.

"Might be a good idea. Too bad I can't make us both become invisible and surprise Will. Flying in will probably attract too much attention to do that," Hay Lib replied and got a nod of agreement from Irma. Both got ready to transform when they heard Raythor's voice say, "Flying may attract attention, but I think there might be another way you could travel."

They both turned to see Raythor on horseback and a carriage approaching them. "My ladies, please get in and we will be on our way. I am certain the princess will be pleased to see you," Raythor said and the girls quickly climbed in the carriage. Once they were on board, they headed for the castle so to not miss the festivities.

---

Meanwhile, a cart was entering one of the back entrances to the castle, it was loaded with food to help restock what had been used for that evening...helping a certain rebel get inside as well.

'You'd think they would be watching for something like this,' Caleb pondered as he jumped out the cart when no one was looking. It was surprising how silent he could be while wearing the armor he had worn for Elyon's celebration a few months ago.

There were new additions to the amour this time though, mainly a helmet that hid most of his face and a sword that went with the style of the armor he was wearing. The sword was for both decorative and defensive purposes and the helmet was to hide his identity with out making people wonder why his face was hidden.

Though it was rarely practiced anymore, a few nobles openly did such things when competing for a lady's affection. The hiding of one's identity was to a way to for the lady to judge the person's actions instead of reputation or family. This would let Caleb get close to Will without risking having every guard present trying to arrest him.

Though Caleb only wished to speak with Will, he hoped to also sneak away with her and get the redhead back to the Infinite City. If he could get Will to rejoin the rebellion, then Irma and Hay Lin would be close behind and it would lead to the Queen's downfall.

'Our mystic might would be greater than ever. If we could even slow the Queen down with that many magic users, we could finally start going on a real offensive. Plus I would have Will back at my side; that alone would make things easier. I don't know if I could lead the rebels to fight against her.' Caleb concluded in his mind as he made his way towards the sounds of music.

When looking for a party's location, that tended to be the best way to do it after all.

---

Will's belated birthday party was held outside in the castle's main courtyard and it reminded Will of when they had celebrated bringing Elyon into the rebellion. The tables were set up in a U-shaped formation, leaving room for the entertainment that would happen during the feast and for the dancing afterwards.

There was also a small table scattered around the areas as well, for the lesser nobles and the common folk who wanted to meet the princess. Susan hated giving many of the higher-ranking nobility special treatment by reserving the larger table for them alone, but even the Queen had certain rules to follow. Susan got a partial revenge by having commoners present though, so at least she got to annoy the ones she hated.

Will sat in the chair that would be her place at the table, just to her mother's right. Both were watching the guests arrive and Will tried to see if she even remotely recognized any of them. The only ones she succeeded in was the Olsen family or at least Matt and Ted.

Matt's parents were present as well this time though and approached the two royals, thanking the two for saving Matt and his grandfather a while back. "Think nothing of it, Lord and Lady Olsen. My daughter was following her old Guardian instincts and I was making sure she lived through the encounter," Susan told the two grateful parents.

"Be that as it may, your highness; you still have our gratitude. Who knows what Cedric would have done had he succeeded in the kidnapping," Lady Olsen said to Susan, while Lord Olsen leaned over to say something to his son.

"Go over and talk to her. I know you are attracted to her, so go woo her already! She might be interested now that the rebel clearly no longer has a chance with her," Lord Olsen whispered to his son, who blushed light as he replied, "I will…when I know a giant rodent won't eat me first!"

"I'm don't see a seven foot tall beast standing near her, so I think it's safe. Now go on!" Matt's father insisted and pushed his son in Will's direction. Matt kept a kind smile on his face, but inside he was shaking in his boots. With the possibility of being mauled by a Weremouse, devoured by a one-eyed monster with a metal club for a hand, suffocated by a walking sand storm, sliced to ribbons by a skilled swordsman, or blasted by the most powerful being on Meridian, most boys would be scared out of their minds.

'And then who knows what the two Guardians that switched to the Queen's side would do to me, since they are her friends,' Matt thought as he approached Will. He was about to greet the princess when he heard a hissing noise and looked down to see Huggles sitting on Will's lap.

The table had hidden the still untransformed creature from view, so it wasn't visible until Matt had came around to the other side to greet the redhead princess. But now that both he and the small gray familiar were in view of each other, the intimidation began again.

"Huggles, stop that!" Will scolded her familiar before looking up at Matt with an apologetic look on her face. "I'm sorry about that; Huggles is a bit…choosy about who can get close to me," Will said to Matt, who accepted the apology, but kept his distance from Huggles.

"It's alright, your highness. I was just coming to ask if you would give me the privilege of the first dance this evening, after the feast is done of course," Matt replied, hoping the princess would accept.

A princess' first dance was a symbolic thing and the boy who claimed it was considered one of the princess' main choices for her future husband. Matt did take into the account that the princess before him most likely had no knowledge of this, but that did not matter. It was still a great honor after all.

Before Will could say anything though, Susan stepped in. "I'm afraid my daughter is still getting used to most Meridian dances, Matthew Olsen. Perhaps at the next social gathering my daughter will be ready, but this time I wish for her to just get to know key people and families. Wilhelmina is still new to her role as princess after all," Susan explained to Matt, knowing she was better able to get Will out of this situation than the redhead could.

Matt was a bit disappointed, but he kept it hidden externally as he replied, "Of course your highness, thank you for your time." Matt then headed back over to his parents, who were a bit disappointed as well. Though they had no grand desire to see their son as the Consort of Meridian, they were hoping Matt could at least be a close friend of the princess.

Ted Olsen was the only one a bit glad at Matt's failure to get the princess to dance with him later. The old man had a feeling the rebel leader was nowhere near ready to give up the girl he loved. If Ted had bet money on this prediction, he would have probably died from a heart attack after seeing his winnings.

---

Meanwhile, a certain pair of girls had been watching the scene and were hoping Huggles was going to scare the boy more than he did. They did not want this unknown boy (to them) to ruin Will's relationship with Caleb, if the rebel leader got the wrong idea.

After Matt had walked away, Irma and Hay Lin quietly snuck up until they were just behind Will's chair. Then both girls sprung out from either side of Will and said, "Happy belated birthday!"

Huggles practically jumped five feet in the air from being startled by the noise, while Will's head was darting back and forth; surprised to see her two best friends were here. "How did you know…" Will started to ask, but Irma cut her off.

"Your mom had letters waiting for us back home after what happened in the mines. Told us about it today and where the portal would be. So here we are, ready to party! There any cute boys you can point me towards?" Irma askedWill, who laughed at the Water Guardian's final comment.

Susan smiled as she watched her daughter embrace her two friends, glad to know her daughter would have some company she was familiar with tonight. Of course, the Queen did not know there was a certain young man present, waiting for his moment to get close to Will later that evening.

---

The dinner went well for Will. Meeting several key figures in the Meridian government was a bit easier than she expected. It probably helped that Huggles changed into Kor when the nobles started coming in droves and made them as nervous as Will was feeling.

Will had noticed Kor seemed more aggressive with some nobles and more passive with others. Will's mother explained that Kor was an animal after all, and had a natural instinct that detected deceit and hidden motives better than most sentient beings. Of course, Susan had also warned Will that familiars had been known to be overly protective of their master or mistress, so relying on her own familiar's reactions to gauge how much to trust a person was probably a bad idea.

What Susan did not warn her daughter of was that most of the nobility that came to meet Will were trying to get something from her. To be precise, their sons were after Will's heart. Each young man was seeking to be the one to gain Will's affections so they could be the next Consort of Meridian, a game that had been done for years before Will was born and one that would continue after Will had passed on.

Susan personally despised this little competition, even before Will had become the so-called 'prize'. The current Queen could still recall what Weira went through until she met her husband to be. Zaden and Weira were not soul mates by any means, but they did care enough for one another to be able to live with an arranged marriage. With Weira needing to ascend to the throne sooner than planned because their of mother's illness, so it had been essential that Weira had a Consort at her side to assist her and she could have done much worse then Zaden.

'Hopefully Will can find someone more to her liking when it's time for her to choose a husband like I did,' Susan thought as the meal was being wrapped up and things were being prepared for the dance to begin. Though Will was probably the most sought after partner for this, Susan could see many of the young men present taking other young girls' hands and leading out to the open space that was the dance floor.

Susan had expected a few of the boys to try and ask Will a second time, but the ever present Kor seemed to keep them at bay. It also helped having a certain pair of former Guardians giving the boys the evil eye every once and a while.

This amused the Queen of Meridian, but her attention was quickly drawn to an approaching figure clad in silver and gold armor. Susan noted the quiet growl that Kor was giving off and the beast relaxed significantly, compared to how the familiar had been acting all evening.

This did not go unnoticed by Irma and Hay Lin, but Will was too focused on the young man who was speaking to her to realize her magical protector's calmer demeanour. "Your highness, I was wondering if you would do me the honor of the first dance?" The young man in armor asked with a deep voice, making Will blush for some reason.

"What's going on? Only Caleb has ever made me feel like this,' Will wondered in her mind as she stood up and walked over to the young man. She let him take her by the hand and led her out onto the dance floor.

Susan secretly smiled at this, having a good idea who this unknown boy was. 'So he snuck in? I wonder how long it will be until Will figures it out or he tells Will who he is,' The dark haired woman wondered, before turning to Hay Lin.

"Hay Lin, I normally respect my daughter's privacy, but could you…" Susan started to ask, but Hay Lin went invisible before the Queen could even finish asking her request.

"I'll keep some distance so they have at least a little privacy," Hay Lin's voice said and then the Queen assumed her little spy snuck off to keep an eye on Will and Caleb.

The Queen did not want to interrupt her daughter's reunion with the rebel leader, but the woman did not want to take any chances. 'He is in love with Will afterall. It would not be surprising if he tried to kidnap Will and try and get her to rejoin the rebellion,' Susan thought as she watched her daughter start to dance her knight in shining armor and inwardly laughed at the jealous glares of all the boys present. All that effort to get the princess to dance with them and this unknown person just waltzed up and succeeded where they had failed.

---

As the dance started, Caleb asked in his normal voice, "So did you somehow sense it was me or do you have an attraction to mysterious men?" Caleb smiled as he heard Will gasp, but she kept quiet after that, leaning just a little bit closer to Caleb as they kept moving to the soft rhythm of the music.

"Are you sure you should be hear, Caleb? If my mother finds out you're here…" Will started to say, but Caleb shushed her and replied, "As long as we are careful, I'm pretty sure we will be okay for the evening."

There were no more words after that as the couple enjoyed being in each other's company without worry about being interrupted. Right now there was no war, rebellion or trying to figure out who was to blame for everything. There was only the here and now and they planned on making it last as long as possible.

---

Matt glanced towards the princess and her mysterious dance partner and felt a bit cheated. 'How did he get the princess to dance with him when everyone else who asked was turned down or scared away by the familiar and the former Guardians?' Matt asked bitterly in his mind, planning on finding out who the man in armor was if he got the chance.

---

After many hours and dances went by, Caleb asked Will if there was a place they could talk in private. He wanted to actually speak to her without worrying about someone recognizing his voice or having to hide his face. Will thought this was a good idea and as discreetly as possible led Caleb to the royal gardens.

They eventually wound up at the pond where Will had met Huggles, a place Will thought was secluded enough for her and Caleb to talk without fear of being seen. "This should do, Caleb. You won't need that helmet here." Will told her boyfriend, who now removed the metal object and revealed his face.

"You have no idea how much I missed you, Will." Caleb said as he took Will in his arms and held her close. The two leaned close and shared their first real kiss, they had come close to kissing right after the stone of Threbe incident, but the girls interrupted it before the two's lips met.

Once they finally broke from the kiss, Caleb said, "Will, come back to the rebellion with me. Help me end this war so we can be together with no fear of anything trying to drive us apart ever again."

Will looked away from Caleb with a sad expression on her face and replied, "Caleb…you can't possibly ask me to fight against my own mother. For the first time in my life I'm safe, loved, and happy instead of living in constant fear."

These words both shocked and confused to Caleb, but then he recalled how he felt there was something off about Will's 'mother' and how the Vandoms reacted to when they saw Will, it made Caleb think his girlfriend's life had been far from a happy one.

"Will, what did they do to you?" Caleb asked in hopes of understanding why Will lived in fear until finally coming back into her mother's care.

Will went silent for a moment, but finally answered, "If I did something, even by accident, I would be punished severally for it. They would hit me, yell at me, and blame me for everything Caleb. I was the Vandom's slave, not their daughter." Will started to cry and was pulled into a tighter embrace by Caleb.

As Caleb held Will in his arms, he realized how hard it would be to get Will to rejoin the rebellion. It was Queen Susan who saved Will and gave her love and protection while the rebellion remained ignorant of Will's suffering.

'I can't ask her to betray her own family, yet I can't risk having to fight Will in the future, so there is only one option.' Caleb concluded in his mind as he pulled away and cupped Will face with one hand as he looked into her eyes.

"Will…I'm sorry." Was all Caleb said and before Will could ask what Caleb apologizing for, Caleb's other hand struck the side of Will's neck with a powerful chop. The blow struck a nerve and knocked the princess out instantly, letting Caleb scoop her up in his arms.

"Don't worry, Will. I'll protect you from the rebels until this war is over. Besides, once they hear what your life was like, no one could blame you for siding with your mother. You might even get to be Keeper of the Heart again once we get back," Caleb told the out-cold girl and started to make his way out of the royal gardens.

Unfortunately for Caleb, his plan was not to the liking of a certain Air Guardian. "Put her down Caleb or you're going to be in some real trouble!" The Asian girl stated as she became visible again.

Caleb turned to face the Air Guardian and said, "Just walk away Hay Lin. I won't risk having to fight Will and this is the only way I can assure that won't happen." It was hard to say if Caleb was very brave or just plain nuts to tell the petite girl to back off, but it was clear he would either escape with Will or go down trying.

"By taking her back to where Phobos can get his hands on her? Not a chance! Air Guardian!" Hay Lin called out and the pendant around her neck activated. The Asian girl was then encased in a sky blue sphere like when the Heart transformed her, changing the young girl into a powerful warrior of the Air element.

Caleb was already starting to make a run for it before Hay Lin even emerged from her energy cocoon, but it was no use. Once Hay Lin's transformation was complete, she shot into the air and went after the rebel/kidnaper.

"You can't get away from me, Caleb! Just put Will down and I'll let you go!" Hay Lin called down at the rebel leader, who seemed to be ignoring her. That did not go over so well with Air Guardian, so she decided the time for peaceful methods was over.

"Air!" Hay Lin called out and a tornado formed around Caleb, sending him and the unconscious Will into the air. While spinning around and around in the whirlwind, Caleb lost his grip on Will, which was what Hay Lin has been hoping for. The Air Guardian then 'turned off' the tornado and used another gust of wind to keep Will floating in place, while Caleb fell to the ground.

'Note to self, Hay Lin may look gentle, but is dangerous when protecting her friends,' Caleb mentally groaned as he got back up to his feet, while Hay Lin landed on the ground with Will.

"Now what should I do with you? Should I let you go or hand you over to Will's mom?" Hay Lin said with a somewhat bitter tone of voice, making Caleb think the normally happy and hyper girl was leaning more towards handing him over to the Queen.

"I vote for handing him over to me, Hay Lin. It would solve his problem having to not fight against Will if he was no longer able to fight period." The voice of Queen Susan called out and the two looked over to see the Queen, a transformed Irma and Kor coming towards them.

Caleb drew his sword and prepared himself for battle, which was when Kor jumped into the air and came diving downward towards the rebel leader. Caleb dove out of the way of the familiar's pounce and swung his blade at Kor's chest.

The Weremouse stepped back though and the blade hit nothing but air, leaving Caleb vulnerable to a split second, which was all Kor needed. The powerful familiar knocked the sword from Caleb's hands and pinned the rebel leader to the ground.

"Get off me you overgrown hairball!" Caleb growled at Kor, which the familiar countered with a snarl. While Caleb struggled to get free, Susan said, "I was hoping you would not try something like this, but it was not entirely unexpected. Though I can't blame you for wanting to ensure you never had to battle against my daughter, I'm certainly not letting you get away unpunished for trying to kidnap her. Kor, pick him up and follow me. I have something special in store for our now ex-rebel leader."

With that command, Kor dragged Caleb to his feet and followed Susan, with Irma and Hay Lin staying close behind.

---

Well, there you guys go. I hoped you guys enjoyed the newest chapter of War for Meridian's Throne. Please review and let me know what you thought of it.


	16. New Allies for Both Sides

Here is the next chapter of War for Meridian's Throne. I would like to thank Knight for both betaing and reviewing and would like to thank Philip for reviewing as well.

Disclaimer: Don't own W.I.T.C.H.

Chapter 16 New Allies for Both Sides

Will let out a groan as she woke up and asked aloud, "Why does my neck hurt?" When Will asked this, she had not been expecting her mother voice to answer, "You boyfriend decided he wanted you back with the rebellion, so he knocked you out."

Wills eyes shot open and turned her head to see her mother sitting next her daughter's bed. "Caleb…where is he? Is he all right? You didn't hurt him did you?" Will asked as she got into a sitting position.

Susan raised an eyebrow at this line of question and replied, "He hits you and you're more worried about what state he is in? You really do care about him." This comment made Will blush lightly, but did not have time to say anything as Susan told Will what happened after she got knocked out.

Flash Back

Susan was in the dungeons, standing in front of Caleb who was chained to the wall. His armor had been removed, leaving him wearing only in a pair of cloth pants and an under shirt.

Both Queen and rebel leader stared each other with steely gazes until Susan finally said, "We need to settle this little issue you have with me, here and now young man. My daughter for some reason is head over heels in love with you, so keeping you in a prison cell for a long time is not an option. At the same time though, I can't risk you pulling a stunt like this again, so its time you realize who the real enemy is."

Caleb's response was the predictable, "You're the real enemy!" Susan ignored it thought and continued. "Now since we don't have time to prove Phobos is the one who really murdered my sister through normal means, I'll have to do…this!" Upon saying those words, Susan's hand shot up and Caleb felt an invisible force blast him in the face.

Caleb's eyes then glazed over, his head slumped down and his body went limp. Susan had placed Caleb in a trance, one that made a person see the truth of a chosen subject, like who really murdered Weira all those years ago.

This was a secret power of the Queens of Meridian and one that was rarely used because of the price the current Queen must pay to use the spell. While the subject is in the trance, the Queen has no access to her magic in anyway and the spell can't be ended before the person under the trance accepts the truth.

Susan had faith that her guards and elite warriors could deal with anything that occurred until Caleb finally realized what Phobos was really like. 'The boy is stubborn, but there is no way he should be in the trance for more then a week, maybe two if he has a serious case of denial.' The Queen of Meridian concluded in her mind as she headed out of the dungeon.

When she arrived at the exit/entrance to the dungeon, Susan found Raythor waiting for her and he did not look happy. "Your highness…we have a problem."

Shortly after Susan got Raythor's warning of trouble, she found out that Matt Olsen had been watching from the shadow on what had happened between Will and Caleb. This led him to go alert the other nobles of what happened, while Susan had been both putting her unconscious daughter to bed and dealing with Caleb.

'I don't know if I should be furious with the boy or not, but he has certainly puts me in a bind though.' Susan thought sourly, as she listens to several nobles call out for Caleb's execution

But Susan would have none of this and stated loud enough for all to hear, "There will be no such thing! I have already taken measures to deal with this matter, so such extreme actions are hardly necessary."

"But he tried to kidnap your daughter, your highness! He is clearly a threat to the princess, no matter how heavily imprisoned he is!" Lord Olen called out, which all his family (with the exception of Ted) agreed with. The other nobles also called their agreements with Lord Olsen's statement, but Susan refused to give in.

"He will not be threat to my daughter for much longer, of that I can assure you. In fact, with in a few weeks at most, he will probably be helping us defeat Phobos of his own free will." Susan told the nobles present. Some were shocked by these words, while others looked doubtful.

"Your highness, with all do respect…do you seriously think the one person who has dealt the most damage to your forces, with both planned attacks and his own exploits, will switch sides? Even if it was to be by your daughter's side, assuming the rumors of their relationship are true, I highly doubt…" Lord Olsen started to say, but Susan interrupted him.

"They are not rumors at all Lord Olsen, if fact that is the very reason why the rebel leader tried to kidnap my daughter to begin with. He had no desire to fight against her, but since he thinks I'm evil he believed his only way to not fight her was to kidnap her. But once he sees my memories of my sister's murder and what ever the spirit of Meridian shows him, he'll finally realize the truth." Susan explained to the nobles present, who were surprised to hear of the Queen's rather strong use of magic.

They knew the Queen preferred not to use such tactics, like using her magic to make people realize what really happen thirteen years ago, but many of the nobles present like this approach to solving the current issue.

With the rebellion's greatest leader and warrior possibly changing to the Queen's side would greatly hurt the rebellion, if not destroy it. There were those who hated the idea of said rebel now being able to be near the princess, since that would mean the relationship between the two could continue unchecked. But the second group was very small in number; unfortunately Matt was one of them.

'I will not loose the princess to some rebel cur! Not matter what it takes; I will be the one to claim the princess' heart!' Matt vowed in his mind, jealousy clearly clouding his judgment. It was this silent vow that would lead to much trouble in the future, in ways no one would see coming or expect to happen.

End of Flash Back

Will listened to her mother's story and was shocked to hear what her mother was doing to Caleb. "Mom, you can't do that! I don't want to fight Caleb, but to force him to see the truth like that it just…feels so cruel. Couldn't we just try and convince him instead of using this trance you have him in?" Will asked her mother, looking very upset at the moment.

Susan gave her daughter a sad smile and gently cupped her daughter's cheek before saying, "If I could, I would have tried to do just that, but time is against us. Right now, your feelings for each other are the biggest weakness you both have. A weakness Phobos won't hesitate to exploit when he gets the chance. The sooner Caleb realizes the truth, the better."

Susan the got up and gently took her daughter's hand and said, "Now if you want, I can take you to go see him after you get dressed." This offer seemed to brighten Will's mood, though it was more likely from the thought of seeing Caleb then her mother's explanation.

Will quickly changed into her robes and followed her mother to the dungeons to see Caleb. The boy she cared about would still be in the trance of course, but Will was just glad to be able to see him.

"I don't believe him! Sneaking off into the castle to kidnap Will was just plain stupid! The fact he tried to do it at a party where she was the guest of honor makes it even more ridicules!" Cornelia ranted/screamed.

The rebel had finally gotten wind of Caleb's little self assigned mission, and were now trying to deal with the consequences. Even with Julian back, Phobos knew the loss of Caleb would great effect the moral with in the rebel ranks, something Phobos did not need at this point and time.

'Of all the times for the fool to go get himself captured! I finally can start mounting a major offensive against my aunt and he goes to try and 'save' him precious princess! This will put my plans back by at least several months unless we can get Caleb back!' Phobos roared in his mind, knowing that with the need to move the rebel base yet again, any assault plans he had were pretty much useless now.

The boost in fighting spirit that he had gained from locating Elyon was quickly dissipating from the loss of three Guardian and now Caleb. Plus there was all the time and energy lost from two very sudden needs to move the entire camp had drained the rebels. This pretty much closed the first window of opportunity Phobos had in years.

"This was reckless, even for Caleb. He normally he would have told at least me and Drake before doing something that insane! What gave him the idea that kidnapping the princess would help our cause?! She's a traitor!" Aldarn added to Cornelia's statement.

All the rebel leaders were in an uproar about what happened, with the exception of Julian. He was just worried about what was happening to his son right now. After all, Julian was the one to suggest Caleb should go to the celebration, but father was smart enough to know Caleb would have gone even if Julian had not said anything.

'A boy in love does crazy things after all. I just hope the Queen is not too furious about nearly losing her daughter a second time she decided to have him executed.' Julian hoped in his mind while rebels talked amongst them selves.

Eventually the meeting was ended do to not coming up with anything that might solve their dilemma, much to Phobos his annoyance. He was heading for his hidden spring, where he gathered life force to fuel his power, when Cedric approached him.

"My Lord, the Lurdens have located something of interested in the old ruins we are using to hide them in. A few tablets with writing that glows red from I have been told. Given the history of those ruins, it might be something useful." Cedric informed Phobos who seemed to be in a better mood now.

'Those ruins were once the base of the Shadow Mages, so it is more then possible they managed hide some the dark knowledge they had collected.' Phobos pondered and quickly told his minion to have the tablets brought to the Infinite City.

Matt was wandering the city streets, disguised as a simple commoner, hoping to find a lead on how to locate the rebels. The sooner he got them to save their leader, the better. 'He will only confuse the princess and may even turn her against her mother. The Queen maybe powerful, but I will not trust the princess' fate to a spell.' Matt thought as he continued to walk down the stone road.

Though in reality, these thought were more like attempts to delude himself that he was doing the right thing. What Matt really wanted was to get Caleb away from Will so he could be the one that princess would love.

As the young lord of the Olsen family passed by a near by ally way, he heard a familiar voice say, "-and if you fail to get me those tablets Passling, I'll feed you to Miranda!" This made Matt stop and listen to the conversation more, knowing it had been Cedric's voice he heard.

"Jeek get tablets for sure Lord Cedric!" Matt heard the voice of a Passling answered in and clearly intimidated tone. It made Matt wonder if the Passling only reward for this particular 'trade' was its own life.

'Well what ever the trade is, it does not concern me. All I care about is getting rid of the rebel scum in the castle dungeon and this gives me the means to do just that.' Matt concluded in his mind and entered the ally.

"Who are you?" Cedric asked in a dangerous tone of voice as he saw Matt enter the ally. The shadows and the hood Matt wore hid his face too well, so Cedric did not recognize him until Matt spoke.

"Lets talk about something more important then who I am, mainly what we both want. I want the rebel leader away from the princess and you probably want him back. So I think we can work out a deal, if you're interested." Matt told Cedric, who smirked at hearing this.

"I think we can boy. I think we can." Cedric replied and sent Jeek on his way, then bid Matt to follow. Cedric could practically smell the jealously radiating from the boy and if used correctly, Cedric knew he could very well give his master a very useful spy if they turned the Olsen boy to their side.

Cedric had made sure that Matt was blindfolded when he brought him to the Infinite City, just as a safety precaution. But he made sure to take the member of the Olsen family to see Phobos himself and not the rebels a whole, since the boy was clearly not on their side, not yet anyway.

"So my aunt is pulling out all the stops to turn Caleb to her side is she? If only we could make use of this window of opportunity. The spell she has used has rendered her powerless, but we can't do anything with our current strength!" Phobos stated much to Matt's confusion.

"Excuse me, but the Queen powerless? That's kind of hard to believe. Besides, if by some chance the Queen were powerless right now, wouldn't that be your best chance to get Caleb back?" Matt asked, clearly un-intimidated at being in Phobos' presence. Such was the strength of his conviction, something that impressed Phobos.

'Yes…his desire for the hand of my cousin is just what I need to gain a useful ally. The Olsens hear much of Aunt Susan's plans, so manipulating him to my side would be most useful. The boy has already given me the bait, now I just need to hook the fish.' Phobos schemed in his mind and made his move.

"Tell me Matt Olsen, do you truly want my cousin's heart? If so, I can guarantee it, no matter how deeply Caleb and the princess feel for one another." Phobos said to Matt, which clearly interested the young lord.

"And how could you do that? More importantly, what is it I must give in return? You don't strike as the type to do things out of the bottom of your heart Phobos. Considering what you did to your own mother after all." Matt replied, knowing there had to be a catch.

"Swear loyalty to me and I will use the power of Meridian it self to make her yours, once I claim my aunt's power. My aunt is clearly trying to keep Caleb and my cousin together, so your only chance to claim her is by helping me." Phobos told Matt as he stared into the young lord's eyes.

Phobos was using a simple, but effective spell that required eye contact for it to work. If successful, it could push Matt in the direction Phobos desired and turn a loyal follower of his aunt to his side.

The thing was it did not truly control a person. It merely helped weaken a person's normal moral standards and make them willingly choose a certain option. The key to using this spell was to find something the target wanted badly enough and plants the seeds of temptation in their mind, then let the spell push them over the edge.

Unfortunately for the world of Meridian and any other world in Phobos' sight, the seeds not only sprouted…they bore fruit! "You give me Princess Wilhelmina and I give you the throne? What do you need me to do my princess?"

Phobos and Cedric smirked at hearing this, but before either man could say anything, the sound of panting could be heard approaching. The three turned to see Jeek carry in a large black sack on his back.

"Jeek…bring…tablets…please no…feed Jeek to…spider girl!" Jeek panted to Cedric, while Phobos raised an eyebrow at his second in command's choice of bartering with the Passling, but had a smirk on his face as well.

Phobos approached Jeek and took the sack. Upon removing one the tablets and reading the ancient text over, let out a small evil chuckle before saying, "Matt Olsen, I had planned for you to be a simple spy, but now I have a much better idea on how you can help me. One we can both make good use of."

It took five days for Phobos to gather everything he needed for his little plan. If he succeeded, he could launch an attack on the palace it self and his aunt would be unable to do a thing to stop it.

Matt, a large chuck of ice, a stone bucket a lava and black cat were each in the middle of a ritual circle, while Phobos was chanting spell from the tablets that he had acquired from the ruins.

The circles then began to glow with red light as Phobos finished the last few words and the occupants of the circles were engulfed in a pillar of red light. Phobos and his four followers waited for the light to die down and see if the evil prince's plan had succeeded or not.

They were not disappointed because where the person/item/animal once stood, was now something much more powerful and more useful for Phobos' plans.

The cat had taken on a massive humanoid and looked like he was on par with Kor in combat ability.

Where the stone bucket of lava had been, a woman made of fire now stood. She had demonic like wings on her back with and carried a pitchfork.

The chunk of ice had been, now stood a mighty ice warrior carrying what looked like a sledgehammer. He had wings made of ice, yet they still looked usable for flight.

Last but not least, was where Matt once stood. Instead of the young lord, was now a powerfully built figure with jet-black hair and was dressed in a black vest, pants, and boots and wore a golden mask over his face. There was a pair of black wings on the person's back, along with reptilian like tail behind him, give him an almost demonic appearance.

Phobos at the cat creature and said, "You will be Lynx." The evil prince then looked over to the fire and ice warriors and added, "You two will be Ember and Tridart." Phobos then looked over to where the transformed Matt now stood and said, "And in that form, you will be called Shagon. You four will be my Knights of Destruction, but the rebels will only know you as their allies, until it is our time to strike."

Matt/Shagon examined his new form as best he could, then turn his head to look at a piece of rubble and fired a beam of green energy at it from his eyes. The beam obliterated the rubble with ease, making Matt/Shagon chuckle and say, "I could get used to this."

Phobos joined in with Matt/Shagon's chuckling before saying, "Serve me well Shagon and this will only be a taste of the rewards you shall receive along with my cousin's affections. Now, let us go introduce to your 'comrades.'"

With that Phobos and his followers, both new and old, went back to the rebel base.

Elyon, Cornelia, Taranee and the rebel leaders were in the meeting room, waiting for Phobos to arrive. They were all waiting to find out what the prince had called this meeting for, saying it would be one that reshaped the whole war for Meridian.

They had not been expecting him to walk in with four new warriors that practically radiated with power. "My friends, let me introduce you to the ones who will help us win this war in two days time, when we launch an attack on the palace it self!" Phobos told those present, who were now more stunned then ever because of this proclamation.

"How can they do that Phobos? Aunt Susan's power is…" Elyon started to say to her brother, but her cut her off by replying, "Is gone, for the moment at least. A very reliable source had informed me our aunt is using a very complex spell on Caleb, to change him to her side. This spell prevents her from using her magic in anyway until Caleb gives into it and we all know Caleb's will is too strong to give in right away. If we attack while the spell is in effect, we can over run the palace and defeat our aunt once and for all."

This news made Drake and Aldarn jump from their seats and say, "We will start gathering the troops!" Both wanted to save their friend before he was turned to the Queen's side and rushed off to start making preparations.

Julian looked worried because of what he just heard and by the look of these new warriors the prince had brought. 'Phobos says they are allies, yet…they have dark presences about them. How could such powerful warriors have remained hidden for so long anyway? Something is very wrong about these four; I can feel it in my bones.' Julian thought, as he looked the new allies of the rebellion.

Had Julian known the organs of these warriors, he would have tried to strike Phobos down on the spot. They were warriors created by a long dead cult called the Shadow Mages, a group of magic users bent on over throwing the royal family by making four beings that fed on negative emotions.

Phobos did not have enough power to grant this ability to his four new warriors, but he was able to still make each a powerful force of destructive power. The secretly evil prince had managed where Shadow Mages had failed; he had created the Knights of Destruction.

Will had visited the dungeons regularly over the week, hoping to find Caleb had snapped out of the trance. To her dismay, Caleb had still yet to awaken, but she did hear him mumbles words of protest, most likely still denying the images her mother's spell was showing him.

Will looked longingly at the boy she cared about; hoping he would exit the trance soon, but knew he would be stubborn to the end. 'It is one of his best traits after all.' Will sadly mused in her mind as she stood before Caleb's limp form.

The redheaded princess the heard a familiar pair of footsteps and felt two sets of arms wrap around in a hug. "Visiting Caleb again huh? Don't worry; he is stubborn, not blind. He'll see the truth soon enough." Irma told Will while Hay Lin added, "Ya and when he does, Phobos is going to be in for a nasty surprise!"

Will smiled sadly at her friends, knowing they were right, but she wanted Caleb back now. After a few minutes, the three girls broke from the hug and started to head out of the dungeon, when Raythor met them at the exit and said in a dead serious tone of voice, "Your highness, you and your friend must come to the throne room right away."

A few minutes later in the throne room, the girls found out what the problem was. The rebels were marching towards the palace, with new warriors leading the charge, along with Phobos, Elyon, Taranee, Cornelia and Phobos original followers. "We need to stop them before they even reach the city. But with the Queen's powers gone while Caleb is in the trance, we might not be able to stop such a force." Raythor explained to all those present.

Everyone who supported Queen Susan looked grimly into the Viewing Pool, watching the new warriors scatter the militia troops who tried to stop the rebel advance. They knew if Phobos was on the battle field, he either was very confidant that these warriors would help him keep Queen Susan at bay or Phobos knew of the Queen's current state.

Neither scenario was good because this looked like it was going to be a losing battle. But that did not mean they were going to go down with out a fight, everyone here was going to fight to their last breath if need be.

"So that means Irma and Hay Lin Guardians up and we take the fight to them then. I was able to block Elyon and Taranee's combined attack at the jousting tournament, so if I were to get…" Will started to say, when her mother cut her off.

"You are not going out there! Its too dangerous!" Susan stated firmly, clearly not wanting Will anywhere near the battlefield.

"Mom, you can't possibly expect me to sit hear while Phobos tramples all over anyone we send to stop him! I might be able to make a difference in this battle if I can hold at least Cornelia and Taranee off!" Will shouted at her mother, clearly starting to gain portion of the older woman's fiery spirit and confidence. The Will everyone knew from a few months ago would have never been able to do that.

"I said you are not going and that's final!" Susan countered, but got a swift response of, "How are you going to stop me!" This lovely scene was showing potential start a war that made the one between Susan and Phobos look like a bickering contest, so Raythor stepped in.

"Your highnesses, lets be reasonable about this. If the princess goes we might be able to hold Phobos off, but if she stays here she is safe for only a short time. She can get hurt or killed no matter where she is, so in my humble opinion, wouldn't it be better to at least let the princess have fighting chance by fighting alongside her friends?" Raythor explained to the two hot-headed royals.

Those watching had to admire Raythor for staying (visibly) calm when both Queen and princess turned their steely gazes on the powerful warrior. Will expression did soften a bit since he was siding with her, while Susan looked torn between chewing Raythor out and accepting her second in command's logic.

"Alright…you can go Will. But please, be careful." Susan finally said though she looked very reluctant to agree to send Will into battle. No one could blame the woman, since no mother wanted to see her child in danger.

"Don't worry about me mom I'll be just fine. With Irma, Hay Lin and Kor watching out for me, I'm sure nothing will happen." Will told her mother, in hopes of making the older woman feel a little more secure.

With that, Will left with her friend and Raythor so to gather the castle guards and head out in hopes of halting Phobos' advance on the capital of Meridian.

It took an hour to move the royal army into position a few miles away from the city. Gargoyle stood ready to act as a living catapult, while Sandpit, Raythor, Will, Irma, Hay Lin and Kor stood at the front lines.

The soldiers seemed to draw relief from having the princess and her friends ready to fight along side them, though they were worried that their Queen was not here as well. They had never known the woman to stay away from a fight when Phobos was near, so they wondered where she was.

Those that knew why Queen Susan was not present, knew they could not tell the guards why their Queen was still back at the palace. If they did, the men might loose hope, something that was not needed at such a dark time.

As they watched the rebel army approach, Raythor asked his princess, "Are you ready your highness? This will be a difficult battle for you and your friends because of the other Guardians. If you want, I'm sure…"

"It's alright Raythor. I'm scared but…if I don't fight, who will? Mom can't so someone needs to take her place until her powers are back." Will said, showing the sign of fear in voice and expression, yet still showed she was ready do what needed to be done.

Raythor placed an encouraging hand on Will's shoulder and said, "You'll do fine your highness, you just deal with the magic wielders, let me and the troops take care of the rest."

With that Raythor drew his sword and waited for time for battle to begin. When rebel forces got close enough Raythor called out, "Artillery and archers…Fire!"

With those words, the catapults, Gargoyle and the archers open fired on the rebel army. But with Shagon, Ember, Cornelia, Taranee and Elyon present, many of the deadly projectiles were tossed aside harmlessly, burnt to a crisp or blasted into oblivion.

The rebels also open fired with arrows as the marched towards the royal army, but Hay Lin and Will managed to use their powers to counter the arrows as well. Will was even abler to send a good potion of the arrows back at the rebels, but like the royal army's, they were destroyed as well.

'Looks like long range warfare is not going to be the deciding factor this day.' Raythor thought grimly and ordered a halt to the long-range assault. There was no point wasting arrows if none were going to even get close to the targets after all.

That was when the rebels moved to an all out charge and made the royal army dig in its heels and prepare to counter it. "Spear forward!" Raythor called out and the front line troops pointed their weapons straight outward, so the rebel would run right into them.

But once again, the magic users of the rebel forces would have none of that and Cornelia, Taranee and Ember quickly went into action. The two fire users were burning the spears, while Cornelia ripped the spears from the soldiers' hands with her telekinetic powers.

This time thought, Will, Irma and Hay Lin were able to try and minimize their attempts by firing upon the mystical warriors of the rebellion. "Oh I have wanted to kick your blond butt since first grade Cornelia! Looks like I finally get the chance!" Irma called out as she blasted the Earth Guardian with a stream of water from her hands.

As Cornelia was sent flying back from the water blast, Hay Lin had Taranee caught in a tornado, but the now much more powerful Fire Guardian was slowly breaking free. Ember on the other hand, was taking down quickly by a powerful bolt of lighting, thanks to Will.

'The new guys seem to be on par with Elyon, Hay Lin and Irma. That means Taranee and Cornelia are still the bigger threats.' Will analyzed then called out, "Irma! Hay Lin! Focus on the four new ones and Elyon. I'll deal with Taranee and Cornelia!"

But as Will was calling this out, Lynx was jumping towards the redhead. Will barely had time to see the cat creature's pounce and if not for Kor stepping in, the redheaded princess would have been tackled to the ground.

Kor leapt into Lynx's 'flight path' and was momentarily wrestling with one another in mid air until they hit the ground. Neither one was even fazed by the impact though and continued their battle on the ground.

While Will silently thanks whatever force in the universe for giving her a familiar, the redhead heard Elyon voice call out, "The only one you'll be fighting is me, cousin!" Will turned her head to see Elyon with while hot energy gathering in her hands.

"Elyon, listen to me! This battle is pointless, we should be stopping…" Will started to say in hopes of getting through to her cousin, but was quickly forced to put up a lighting barrier to block Elyon's attack.

"The only way this battle is stopping is when you and your mother are in prison for your crimes!" Elyon stated and fired again and again in hopes of getting past Will's defenses, but to the blonde princess of Meridian's confusion, it seemed her attacks were not having any effect.

'How can she be stronger them me? Did her mother increase the strength of her powers or something?' Elyon wondered a bit fearfully, but still continued her assault. Elyon was half right, Will did have much stronger powers because she was Susan's daughter, but not for the reason Elyon was thinking of.

The heir to the throne often had enough mystic energy in side their body to be equal to half a Heart, as a means to semi prepare said heir to be able to handle the real Heart of Meridian's power when they were older. This put Will on equal footing with Taranee and Cornelia's combined strength and way out of out Elyon's league.

Elyon was going to find this out the hard way, when Will suddenly telatransported behind Elyon, placed her hand on her cousin's should and shocked Elyon until she was unconscious. As Elyon's prone form fell towards the ground, Will grabbed hold of Elyon's arm and slowly took Elyon down.

Upon seeing two familiar faces amidst battle she called out, "Drake! Aldarn! Mind taking this off my hands?" The two looked up to see Will flying low and let Elyon go.

The two quickly moved to catch the blonde princess, thought they were confused as to way Will had taken her prisoner instead. They did not have time to ask thought because Will took off to go help friends with the other Guardians and Phobos' new minions.

It was a good thing Will was on her way, because Irma and Hay Lin had their hand full. Taranee and had gotten free of Hay Lin's tornado and a soaked Cornelia had escaped Irma's water blasts.

To make matters worse, Tridart and Shagon had joined the battle as well. Since it was an air battle, Gargoyle and Sandpit were unable to help and Kor was busy with Lynx. Not that the giant Weremouse could jump that high anyway.

"Where is your precious Queen to save you now, you traitors?" Cornelia said in a smug tone of voice. It clearly hinted that the Earth Guardian knew more then the two would have liked, meaning she knew of Susan's current predicament.

'How did they find out? Not many would even know the drawbacks of the spell Caleb's under. Phobos would probably know, but how did he find out to being with?!' Irma demanded mentally to the universe while she and Hay Lin dodged attacks coming from all sides.

"Hay Lin, go invisible! Maybe you can…ah!" Irma started to say but finally got hit from a blast by Shagon and was knocked to the ground. "Irma!" Hay Lin screamed in fear and panic, but as she tried to go down and check on her friend, Tridart grabbed her and power bombed the petite girl into the ground.

"Now to put you two on ice." Tridart said with an evil grin on his face and got ready to finish off the two helpless Guardians, but this was when a certain redheaded lighting storm swooped in and boy was she pissed.

With a feral scream, Will blasted Tridart with the largest lighting bolt she had ever made and sent the ice man flying into a group of rebels. Will then hovered over her friends so they had a chance to recover, while the three remaining opponents were in no rush to go head to head with Will at the moment.

"Sorry I'm late, had a giant fur ball and a stubborn cousin to deal with." Will apologized to her friends, panting a little from that last attack.

"No prob." A dazed and very sore Hay Lin replied, while Irma groaned out, "Just get here sooner next time." Will giggled at this and waited for them to get up and join her in the air.

While they did so, Ember had finally recovered from being hit by Will earlier and joined up with her comrades again. "Let me at that little royal pain!" Ember growled, wanting to get a little payback for earlier, but Cornelia and Taranee stopped her.

"Let us deal with her. You and Shagon deal with Irma and Hay Lin. If you finish fast, then you can get a crack at her royal highness." Cornelia told Ember, who reluctantly gave into the blonde's order.

The fire elemental was in for an unpleasant surprise thought, because Irma fired a blast of water at her, making Ember scream in pain. Shagon was also hit by surprise by a blast of air from Hay Lin and was sent flying back.

The two Guardians went flying after their opponents, leaving Will to face Cornelia and Taranee. "So it's down to just us at last." Cornelia said coldly as she and Taranee prepared to fight their former friend and leader.

Taranee was actually more reluctant then she outwardly appeared. With the way Will's 'parents' acted in the mines and the way she noticed Will carry Elyon over to the rebels side of the battlefield, the Fire Guardian was starting to have her doubts about certain things in this war.

'Phobos' new warriors also give me the creeps. I'm starting to wonder if we have really chosen the right side to support.' Taranee thought, as she got ready to fight Will. She may have her doubts, but they were not strong enough to change beliefs completely. Not yet anyway.

Then as if someone had rang a bell to signal the fight to begin, lighting, fireballs and chunks of earth started to fly.

"It's not true…it can't be true!" Caleb practically screamed as he tried to resists the images he was being shown. He was in his mind and the spell Queen Susan had cast had been showing him Susan's memories of that fateful night all those years ago.

Meridian had also shown him images of Phobos' other exploits. Mainly his methods of gathering life force before the rebellion started and the secret captures of innocents during the war. Caleb also saw how Phobos gathered the Lurdens to do his bidding and was planning to use them to conquer Meridian once he claimed his aunt's powers.

'It is true young man. The one known as Phobos has been using you and the rebels to further his own dark agenda." The Voice of Meridian told Caleb, who was putting up a surprising amount of resistance to the information being given to him.

"Phobos is trying to save Meridian, not destroy it!" Caleb roared in defiance, yet deep down apart of him felt it was true. The in the images shown to Caleb better explained Phobos' frequent disappearances, then the mysteries reasons Phobos often told.

'But this is an illusion created by the Queen. There is no way this can be the truth!' Caleb mentally told himself in a vain attempt to squash his doubts, but Meridian was going to put a stop to that.

"Then perhaps this will convince you of his real goals and the desires of his true followers." The Voice of Meridian said to Caleb and showed him the battle that was taking place at this very moment.

Will, Taranee and Cornelia were in a dead lock. Will was able to block the Fire and Earth Guardians' attacks, but they kept the pressure Will and prevented her from fighting back.

It also did not let her notice that several formally defeated opponents getting back to their feet. Tridart was back up and was saving Ember from Irma, freezing the Water Guardian's wings when she was not looking.

But Irma did not even have time to scream for help, because Ember unleashed a barrage of fireballs at the defenseless girl. Irma crashed to the ground and was out cold, letting two victories warriors moved onto help triple team Hay Lin with Shagon.

Drake and Aldarn were reviving Elyon, just in time to see Kor winning against a badly beaten Lynx. Elyon fired a blast of white light at the un-expecting familiar, hitting him with such force that Kor was taken out of the battle in one-shot.

After quickly healing the wounded cat creature, it jumped into the fray once again, this time after Raythor. This took out the only one who was barely keeping the ranks of the royal army organized enough to fend of the rebels. With Raythor taken down, the rebels quickly gained a foothold and were gaining even more ground quickly as well.

Shortly after Raythor's defeat, Hay Lin was blasted from the sky and taken prisoner by the rebel below. Sandpit and Gargoyle tried to go help their fallen comrades, but were quickly over powered by the combined efforts of the Knights of Destruction and Elyon.

The worse part for Will was it was none of these warriors that were the ones to help Taranee and Cornelia in her defeat it. It was Phobos himself that delivered that blow. His reserves of extra life force were low, but the dark prince had more then enough to fire a blast at the distracted Will and hit her in the back.

This weakened her lighting shield and let some of Cornelia and Taranee's attack through and sends Will falling towards the ground. The only thing that saved the redheaded princess from smashing into the rocky terrain was the vines Cornelia made grown out the ground to restrain Will.

The grabbed Will in mid fall and bound her tightly so she could not escape. Phobos telatransported up to Will and said in an evil and quiet voice, "Dear cousin, you should be grateful. Shagon wants you in exchange for his loyalty, so you get to live while the rest of our family and your precious Caleb are crushed under my heel!"

Will weakly and vainly tried to brake free, but was too weak to even call out Phobos' comment.

Caleb heard Phobos comment though and it filled him with rage. It also shatters the remaining doubts in his mind about the truth of who really killed Queen Weira. 'I'll make him pay for all the evil he has done and the harm he had done to Will!' Caleb roared in his mind.

Sensing Caleb's feelings, Meridian asked, "Do you desire the power to set things right and turn the tide of the battle?"

With out any hesitation Caleb called out, "Yes!"

Susan watched helplessly as each of her best warriors were defeated and Will and her friends were captured. 'I was a fool to use that spell! I wanted it to help Will get Caleb back, instead it has lead to her capture and I'm helpless to do anything.' The Queen thought as her eyes filled with tears.

But just as the woman was about cry, she felt a surge of power flow through her and saw the image in the viewing pool change to a scene just out side the palace. A streak of green light blasted through a wall that was where the dungeons would be and was heading towards the battlefield.

'I hope you don't mind, but I gave him one of the pendants the Oracle had given you. Your nephew is in for a nasty little surprise when that boy gets there.' The Voice of Meridian said in Susan's mind, making Queen's eyes widen in shock.

'If Caleb is free of the trance then that means…' Susan started to think and then got ready to head for the battlefield, when the Voice of Meridian stopped her.

'Let the boy have a few minutes of being the hero. He has a lot of anger in him right now and believes he has many wrongs to make right. He has a strong pride, which was wounded severally by finding out he was the tool for a tyrant.' The Voice explained to Susan, who reluctantly sat back down to watch Caleb go on the warpath.

Though the battle was not over yet for the royal army, it was for their strongest members. Cornelian was seeing to it that Raythor, Gargoyle, Kor, Irma and Hay Lin were tied up with vines.

Mean while Ember and Taranee turned Sand pit into a glass statue with their fire based magic, while the remaining magic users kept a close eye on Will. "So…should we make an announcement to the whole battlefield that we got both their commander and princess? It might make the remaining troops surrender." Elyon suggested in hopes of end this fight and marching on the palace.

Phobos debated on this idea, since it was a hard decision when it cam to his overall plans. The longer both sides fought, the weaker they would be when he moved in for the kill with his army of Lurdens. But the idea of getting his aunt's powers at long last was equally tempting.

"I think we should…" Phobos started to say, but them stopped when he senses a powerful force coming their way. Phobos knew it was not his aunt, it was to weak to be her, but it was still a formidable force nonetheless.

Elyon looked the direction that had drawn her brother attention, wondering what made him stop speaking. At first she saw nothing, but before she could turn to ask Phobos what was the matter, she finally noticed a small green light off in the distance.

'What is that?' Elyon wondered as she watched the light get bigger and bigger by the second, like if it was getting closer to them.

When the light got close enough to the battlefield for all to see, it hovered in place in the form a green sphere. After a few seconds of having people staring at it in confusion, it exploded with a blinding light.

While everyone tried to regain their ability to see, what was inside the sphere fired a green beam of light at those tide up in vines. The vines withered away, freeing the captured princess, Guardians and warriors.

While Will was trying to regain her sight, she felt something swoop down and lift her into the air bridal style. When her eyes finally were able to focus once again, she was greeted with the sight of Caleb's smiling face.

"Caleb! What are you doing here?" Will exclaimed in shock, but then noted a pair of hawk like wings on Caleb's back. This caused Will to float out of her boyfriend's arms and noticed other rather…interesting changes to Caleb's appearance.

He now looked eighteen years old, instead fifteen. His build and muscle tone was on par with Shagon, but instead of a vest covering his torso; Caleb had brown leather armor in its place. There was also a pair leather bracers on Caleb's forearms and was wearing a pair of brown trouser and leather boots.

After a moment of silence Will grumbled out, "I am seriously getting transformation envy." Caleb smirked at this comment, but quickly let out a chuckle as he watched Will glamour up into her old Guardian form, in a vain attempt to make herself feel a little less left out.

Mean while, Irma and Hay Lin took to the air once and flew up to their friends. "Is that Caleb? Will, my good, kind, sharing friend…" Irma started to say, but Will cut her off since the Water Guardian's dreamy expression gave Will a very good what Irma was going to ask next.

"Finish that sentence Irma and I'll shock you until you hair stand on end PERMANTLY!" Will growled at the Water Guardian, who was now hiding behind Hay Lin like she was a human shield.

"As much as I love watching you two fight over me, don't you think we should help out Sandpit? He is the only one I could not help out and I think we are going to need him to win this battle." Caleb spoke up, which Will quickly responded to and fired a quintessence bolt at the glass statue, returning Sandpit to normal.

As Will did this, the rebels were finally recovering their sight as well and saw Caleb flying with Will and the others. "Caleb, get away quick before they capture you again!" Aldarn called out, quickly getting of the shock of Caleb's new form.

Caleb looked down at his best friend and said, "I'm pretty sure I don't have to worry about that happening anytime soon." Caleb then looked at the four Knight of Destruction and demanded, "Which one of you is Shagon?!"

Shagon/Matt step forward and responded, "Why do you want to know?" The only reply Shagon got was Caleb's open palm pointing towards him and unleashing powerful green beam at the black winged warrior.

As Shagon got blasted, Caleb roared out, "Will is not prize and I'm going to beat that fact into your thick skull!" Caleb then went flying at the prone Shagon, leaving the rebel forces in shock.

"The Queen has brainwashed Caleb! Fight back against him as if he were any other opponent!" Phobos ordered to the confused rebel forces; while the dark prince's true followers moved to fight the former leader of the rebellion.

But their original opponents quickly countered the other Knight of Destruction. Irma went after Ember, Hay Lin dealt with Tridart and Kor and Lynx started wrestling once again.

Elyon tried to go help Cedric and Miranda deal with Sandpit and Gargoyle, but the recently freed warriors were giving the threesome a hard time.

Will once again squared of against Taranee and Cornelia. This time thought, Will was more cautious of Phobos as she fought.

With Raythor back up, he quickly retook command of the royal army and got them back into the battle. With the rebel forces still confused at Caleb's sudden defection to Queen Susan's side, it was easy for the royal army to regain a lot of lost ground.

Phobos could tell things were quickly looking bad for the assault on the palace until he remembered a critical piece of information. "If Caleb is out of the trance, then that means…Drake! Aldarn! Signal a retreat! My aunt will be soon joining the battle!" Phobos called out.

It took a moment for the two rebels respond to the princess command, but were snapped out of the daze when the recalled the 'illusion spell' Caleb had been under was what kept the Queen of out the battle. The both quickly muttered a few Meridian swear words at the idea of the powerful Queen adding to this chaos and quickly called for their forces to run for it.

"We will have to finish this battle another day Caleb and next time I'll be the victor! The princess will be mine!" Shagon growled at Caleb and flew away with Tridart and Ember. Caleb wanted to go after the mysteries warrior that was wanted Will, but the appearance of Queen Susan stopped him.

"Well, looks like you were all that was needed after all. Lets head back to the palace, you can finish that…thing off another day. Right now there are those who are eager to speak with you and a great deal of things I must tell you as well." Susan told Caleb, who with a great deal of reluctance, did as he was asked.

Back at the palace, the royal army was gathered in the castle main courtyard to be thanked by the Queen herself for their valiant efforts in repelling Phobos' largest attack to date. "We can be especially Caleb, who came to our aid in our darkest hour. We are all fortunate he realized the truth about Phobos when Meridian needed him most." Susan said to the troops present.

Many applauded the hero of the hour for his assistance in the battle, though many were still confused as to why he aided them, since that had been used to seeing him as then enemy for so long.

"I did what I had to do your highness and if you will have me, I would like to continue helping to make up for all the damage I have caused over the years by doing Phobos' biding." Caleb said as kneeled before Susan, who smiled down at him.

"That is what I was hoping to hear young man. I'm sure my daughter is glad to hear that as well." Susan said to Caleb and made both him and Will blush.

Will was still in the glamour of her old Guardian form, which made Susan roll her eyes at and wave her in Will's direction. The glamour quickly faded away, much to Will annoyance, but Susan just told her, "You shouldn't be burning up your reserves of energy after such an exhausting battle."

Susan was right to a small degree, but she mainly wanted her daughter to get over her lack of transformation abilities. Irma, Hay Lin and Caleb gave the redheaded princess a sympathetic smile while Susan wrapped up her speech and sent the troop off for a well-earned rest.

As the troops left, Susan turned to Caleb and said, "Since there is not exact task that requires your assistance at the moment, I was wondering if you be willing to take an assignment that would benefit both you and my daughter."

Both Will and Caleb were confused at this, so Susan explained further. "Though Will has Kor to protect her in most cases, I would feel better if she had a bodyguard and adviser. You're newly gained powers make you well able to defend her, should the need arise and are somewhat familiar with court politics if my sources are correct. Something that Will could use while she gets the hang of her role as princess." Susan told the two, who seemed to like the idea have having good reason to be near each other on a regular bases.

"I thought you two would like that, now about your powers Caleb. They are actually of the Earth element, but uses abilities that even the Earth Guardian or myself, do not have access to. The energy blasts you have made use of are actually based off an energy called Gaea. It's the raw magic of the Earth element and as you have seen, packs a lot of punch when used in battle. If my guess is right you should be able to manipulate plants and the earth its self as well, though that should be the limits of your abilities." Susan told Caleb, so he knew the full extent of his powers.

The others were surprised Caleb had access to a power not even Susan or Cornelia could use, but were glad Caleb had it. They were almost on equal footing with Phobos and his new warriors, something that relieved everyone who was not part of the rebellion.

Phobos could not believe greatest chance to claim Meridian, was foiled by the one who actually gave him the opening. 'Not only did I lose my opportunity, but also my aunt has gained my greatest stagiest as her ally! At least I still have the Olsen boy to spy on the queen. He is bound to find me another chance sooner or later' Phobos thought to himself, taking solace in the fact he had his spy and now his Knight of Destruction.

He also gained another small objective, the means to kill of his sister when the time was right. Elyon adored Lynx's normal cat form, so Phobos said he could be her new bodyguard, but in reality it means he had one of his most loyal in position to snuff the girl out with a single gesture.

'All I need to do now is bide my time. I will win this war!"

And there you guys go. Hoped you all enjoyed the latest chapter. Please let me know what you thought.


	17. The Horn of Hypnos

AN: Here is the next chapter of War For Meridian's Throne and once again I would like to thank Knight for both beating reading and reviewing this fic.

Would also like to thank Philip Gipson, Lilly Tiger and Blondie- It wasn't me for reviewing as well.

Also would like to mention two things before starting the chapter. One is for those eagerly awaiting the next update to Shunned One. My beta reader for that is back online now and the next two chapters should hopefully be out in a few weeks at most.

Second, I have started a Forum in the W.I.T.C.H. section for those who have question of suggestions for my current stories and to get people's opinions on my future stories. Now on with the chapter!

Disclaimer I don't own W.I.T.C.H.

* * *

Chapter 17: The Horn of Hypnos

The weeks that followed Caleb's defection had interesting effects on both the warring factions. For the ones who supported the Queen, it was an awkward situation, but a welcome one.

Raythor had himself a new victim/sparing partner for sword practice, since no sane guard ever dared to risk the beating they would get. But Caleb was on par with the Queen's second in command, so it made the matches more interesting for both the participants and the spectators.

The thing that many objected to was the fact that he was Will's bodyguard; mainly nobles who wanted the former rebel leader away from the princess so their sons could try to court Will.

The combined efforts of Caleb and Huggles/Kor dealt with the braver of the suitors, but it sometimes took Irma and Hay Lin to 'talk' with some of said boys when they did not take the hint. The parents of these stubborn boys would often see their sons come home looking like they had been caught in a blizzard.

For Will, Caleb's constant presence was a blessing in more than just the boyfriend/girlfriend department. Having someone who she was less nervous to ask questions about the things she was tying to learn; helped her understand them much more easily and quickly.

With the combined effort of Caleb and Susan; Will was finally starting to understand her role as princess better and was able to help offer advice during throne room meetings now.

Susan was proud to see her daughter blossom into the princess she knew Will could be. The future of Meridian was looking brighter by the day and the queen knew it would soon be time to start sharing her power with Will. But that would have to wait once the war was over since it was far too dangers to do it now with Phobos on the loose.

'But soon Will can learn to wield the Light of Meridian. It will be a bit different then when she used the Heart of Candracar's power, but I'm sure she can do it since she'll get better a little bit at a time.' Susan thought as she watched Will argue with two stubborn nobles who had a land dispute.

The Queen knew she should step in soon, since Will was starting to give off small sparks of electricity as she tried to tell the nobles who was in the wrong, but wanted to let it play out a little more and see if the redheaded princess could reason with the clearly stubborn pair.

Caleb and Kor on the other hand wanted to tear the two nobles a new one, since they did not approve of the way the two yelled back at Will. But murder was frowned upon so the two held the peace…as best they could.

* * *

The rebellion on the other hand, was not doing so well. It was barely holding after Caleb left, despite Elyon, Aldarn, Drake and Julian's best efforts. Phobos of course kept to his role as well and tried to encourage the rebesl to keep going, but he was seriously considering just finishing the rebellion off with his Lurden army and using them to overthrow his aunt.

'But if I do that, then I still have the royal army at full strength, so perhaps a little more patience is for the best.' Phobos thought bitterly as he absorbed life force from Meridian in his hidden spring.

Just then though, Cedric entered the spring chamber holding something that was wrapped in rags. "My prince, the Passling Jeek had found something that we might be able to put to good use, so I took the liberty of acquiring it for you,' Cedric told his prince who had a mildly curious expression on his face.

Cedric removed the rags to reveal a horn of some kind, which first made Phobos annoyed to have had his solitude interrupted by a simple instrument. But after a moment, the prince's eyes widened and he asked in shock, "Is that what I think it is?"

Cedric gave his prince an evil grin as he replied, "It is my prince. I have tested it myself before I brought to you and it works just as the ancient texts say."

After taking a moment to savor the moment, Phobos looked over to his second in command and said, "Gather a large group of Lurdens. We need a crisis big enough to draw my aunt from the palace and right into our hands."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come along, mom? I know the kingdom needs someone running it, but you need to take a break once in awhile." Will asked her mother, while Caleb, Irma, Hay Lin and herself got ready to go out and swim at a lake Caleb often visited as a child.

Susan smiled at her daughter but shook her head as she replied, "Sorry sweetheart, but with this war still going on, I need to remain where I can hear about any possible attacks and organize our forces to counter them. You just go enjoy yourself."

Will looked a little sad at hearing this, but nodded her head in acceptance and headed over to her friends. With a gesture, Will telatransported them to the lake, leaving Susan and the palace behind.

After Will had disappeared, Raythor looked at his Queen and said, "I could have taken care of things for you, your highness." The Queen's right hand man knew Susan better than anyone, with the exception of her late husband. That meant he knew she was in desperate need of some time away from her duties and probably should have taken her daughter's offer.

The dark haired woman smiled sadly at Raythor with a tired expression on her face, as she said, "I know you could Raythor, but it's for the best I stay at the palace. Just in case something does happen."

"Then may I suggest you at least take some time in the gardens or your study and do some light reading? You'll still be near if something does come up and I can look after your remaining meetings and duties for the day." Raythor suggested to his Queen in hopes of getting her to at least relax for a while before she burns herself out.

Susan happily agreed to at least that offer, though silently vowed to take a LONG vacation once the war with Phobos was over.

* * *

Several hours later, in a large stone ledge, Phobos and Cedric looked down at a mountain village below. They had a small army of Lurdens behind them and had a dark task for the evil creatures to carry out.

"You will attack the village in droves as if you would have in the days when you did not serve me. Overwhelm them, but let a few escape. We need them as bait to lure our true objective here. After this village is destroyed, move onto the next and keep doing this until I tell you to stop," Phobos ordered his minions who grunted and growled in a manner that signaled they understood the command.

With that, the greenish gray creatures moved to position themselves to rush the village. Phobos knew of his aunt's hatred of the Lurden race, after what happened thirteen years ago and knew she would personally come to stop the attack.

'She'll play right into my hands and soon, all of Meridian will be mine!' Phobos thought evilly as he waited for the attack to begin. The cries of the villagers and the smell of smoke from burning huts; would be the sound and smell of victory this day for him.

* * *

Queen Susan was in her library having a peaceful nap. She had originally planned on doing some light reading, but had drifted off to sleep in the process. Both Raythor and Will had been right to think the dark haired woman needed a break from her duties.

For all her strength and magic, Susan was still human and this war was starting to wear her down. Even with the war's potential end in sight, Susan had been virtually fighting nonstop for thirteen years and it was starting to take its toll, so this brief rest was a much needed one.

Unfortunately for Queen Susan, Phobos had no intention of giving the woman her well-deserved rest. Raythor burst into the room, which woke the woman with a start and accidentally used her telekinesis to send him flying into a wall, thinking he had been an attacker of some kind.

Raythor let out groan of pain, while Susan gasped in shock at her mistake. "I'm so sorry Raythor! You burst in so suddenly I just reacted and…" Susan started to say as she apologized for her actions, but Raythor's next words made her go silent.

"Lurdens…attacking the northern villages. Too many for the nearby troops to deal with, your highness," Raythor told his Queen as he got back to his feet. Hitting the wall had only made him a little sore, so there was no actual damage except to his pride.

Had Susan not been in a daze from hearing the word Lurdens, she would have been relieved to know Raythor was all right. But right now though, she was only concerned for more information on the attacks by the creatures that helped start this accursed war.

"Where is the exact location Raythor? I'll head out to stop them right away, while you gather a back up force," Susan demanded from her second in command, who knew she was going to say all that.

"At the northern most valley, your highness. The villages in the valley are trying their best to halt them, but just a bunch of farmer militia troops, no real training or weapons," Raythor reported. After Susan heard this, she nodded her head and telatransported away to counter the Lurden attack.

Raythor rushed off to gather the troops as he was ordered, but knew there was little chance they would see any action. 'After all, the most powerful force in all of Meridian is already doing battle with them. Chances are the troops will only be cleaning up the mess that was left from the battle's aftermath. 'I hope her highness will try to keep the collateral damage to a minimum.' Raythor thought as headed down the castle corridor.

* * *

Will and her friends were at the lakeside enjoying their mini vacation; Will was still a bit worried about her mother, but the swimming, her friends and Caleb, kept her mind off it most of the time.

At the moment it was more Caleb and her friends that distracted her because everyone was enjoying a pinic on the beach near the lake. "So how are things in Heatherfield? I hope my 'parents' vanishing into thin air has not caused too much trouble." Will asked, as she, Irma and Hay Lin talked about various subjects. Caleb mostly just listened while petting Huggles on the head, since he was not really one for gossip.

"Well, my dad is still trying to figure out what happened to be honest. A bunch of footprints in the carpet that led off to nowhere kind of confused everyone. Wish we had thought to clean up Raythor and the guards' tracks before we left the apartment, but at least dad has not been grilling me for information yet," Irma answered while she took a sandwich out of the basket.

"You probably won't need much of a cover to story to be honest. Just say the last thing you heard was that she was sick and resting at home. Your father will probably not suspect you know a thing. Worse comes to worse, just use your mind influencing power to make him believe your story," Caleb told Irma, joining the conversation for once.

"Glad neither of my parents are in the police department. My parents are paranoid enough as it is. Who knows how bad they would be if they were cops?" Hay Lin with a shudder at the thought, which made everyone laugh.

Will then leaned back do some cloud watching, with Caleb doing the same, though he was more interested in just being next to Will than looking at clouds.

"You're still worried about your mom, aren't you?" Caleb asked as he laid down next to Will, whose silence was all he needed to hear.

"Don't worry, soon we will end this war and then maybe you and I can take over some her duties while she enjoys some time away from the throne. It would be good practice for you anyway; always good to get a glimpse of what you'll need to do as Queen, so you'll be ready for when it's your turn," Caleb suggested in hopes of making Will feel a little better.

It seemed to work, because Will moved a little closer to Caleb's side and asked with a loving smile on her face, 'What did I ever do to deserve you?" Caleb returned the smile leaned close to while saying, "I have been asking myself the same question."

As the two's lips were about to meet, they heard a mock gagging sound and they turned to see Irma was the one making it. Hay Lin was giggling at the scene, but both girls quickly started to feel nervous when the sparks coming off of Will and Caleb was giving off a small green aura from his body.

"You take Hay Lin. I'll take Irma." Will said to Caleb and then locked her sights on the Water Guardian. Caleb did the same to Hay Lin and both soon to be victims quickly got up and started running.

Beams of Gaea energy and Quintessence lighting bolts were quickly fired upon the two retreating girls, both knowing they were about to be turned into toast if the ones firing on them ever caught up.

Both girls quickly transformed in hopes of making a quick escape by flight, but Caleb did the same and since Will did not need to transform, Irma did not really get a head start. "When I get my hands on you Irma I'm going to shock you so much, Heatherfield is going to be able to use you as an energy source!" Will screamed after her target, who for once, did not try to make any wise cracks.

Caleb was pursuing Hay Lin as well, but both stopped when the saw a pillar of smoke off in the distance. "Will! Irma! Look over there!" Caleb called over which made the other two stop and see the smoke as well.

"It's several miles off, about fifty I would guess. If we fly fast we might be able to get there and deal with it before it's too late." Caleb informed the three girls, who agreed and they took off towards the pillar of smoke.

* * *

Susan had appeared in the middle of the village that was currently under attack. The Lurdens were everywhere, but Susan planned on stopping that very soon. "EARTH!" Susan called out and vines sprouted from the ground, capturing some of the Lurdens.

The evil creatures fought back with spears and stones, but Susan was quick to counter and called out, "Quintessence!" This caused the all the objects thrown at her to be sent back out the ones who threw them.

The Lurdens quickly began to look afraid and started to retreat from the village, while the villagers cheered at the Queen's victory. Susan gave them a small smile and a wave, before heading after the Lurdens, planning on fishing this matter once and for all.

But Meridian's Queen did not get very far, because a figure in a black cloak quickly stepped before her and was holding a strange horn. Susan and several villagers were confused at this, but before anyone could even react, the person blew the horn in Susan's direction.

Susan felt her mind become clouded and everything then went blank. The last thing she remembered, was hearing her daughter's voice calling out "Mom!"

* * *

Will, Irma, Caleb and Hay Lin were just getting in sight of the village when they saw the person in the black cloak blow a strange looking horn at Susan. Will's instincts were telling her something was wrong about this and called out to her mother, but she did not respond.

All the Queen did was hover in mid air and stare blankly towards the one in the black cloak. 'With the exception of the princess and her friends showing up, everything is going according to plan, Cedric. Continue as we discussed and have my aunt attack the kingdom she cares about so much. If we are lucky, my cousin will react the way I'm think and will end up getting killed by her own mother.' Phobos commanded Cedric (the one in the black cloak) who obeyed the command without hesitation.

"Attack the kingdom! Destroy it all and anyone who gets in your way!" Cedric ordered Queen Susan. Since she was now a Trance Marcher, the Queen obeyed the command and turned towards the village and its inhabitance.

The Queen then started unleashing bolts and fireballs on the village, making the villagers run in fear. Many had heard the command and saw the blank look in the Queen eyes, so they knew something was not right, but still could believe their Queen was attacking them!

The four magic users flying above the village couldn't believe it either, especially Will. She was the first to fly down and confront Susan. Will got right in front her mother and said, "Mom, what are you doing! You have to stop this!"

Will's only response was her mother waving her hand and she felt and invisible force thrown her into what remained of a hut. Several villagers rushed to her side, while a furious Caleb started firing Gaea blasts at Susan.

Irma and Hay Lin were quick to do the same and the elements of Earth, Air and Water were unleashed upon the Queen. But an invisible barrier blocked everything the three threw at the Susan, much to the horror of Caleb, Irma and Hay Lin.

Zombie Susan then looked towards the three magically empowered teens and sent a massive bolt of lighting at them. They scatted so to avoid the attack, but were very worried if they could not stop the powerful Queen, even with a surprise attack with three elements.

"Is it just me or does anyone else think we are going to get a royal smackdown within the next five minutes?" Irma joked nervously. Had the situation not appeared so grim, Hay Lin might have laughed, but that was obviously not the case.

"Irma, with all do respects to your talent with humor...SHUT UP!" Caleb yelled at the Water Guardian. Irma did not have a chance to do what the former rebel leader said though. Not when they had to focus on surviving a barrage of icicles that Trance Marcher Susan created and launched at them.

* * *

While Caleb, Irma and Hay Lin fought a losing battle with Susan, Will was finally getting back to her feet after her mother's attack, with the help of some of the villagers. "Princess Wilhelmina, are you alright?" a woman asked Will, as the redhead's vision was clearing and was able to stand again.

"Ya...I'm fine. It's my mom I'm worried about. What did that horn do to her?" Will asked, while the villager stayed close just in case Will lost her balance again. Some of the young males were a bit more interested in staring at the swimsuit will was wearing, but the women present kept the glances to a minimum.

"Your highness, I have heard a legend that may explain what is going on. It is said there exists a magical horn that put people in to a trance if it's pointed at them and they hear the tune." The woman explained to Will.

The redheaded princess looked horrified by this news and quickly asked, "Is there a way to break the spell? I don't want to hurt my mother." The woman was silent for moment, as if in deep thought before replying. "The Mage might know how to break the horn's spell, but know one knows where she is right now."

"The Mage? I never heard of heard…of…." Will started to say, before she suddenly went silent and her eyes took a gentle pink glow.

The villagers were worried for the princess, but in reality this was good thing. Will was right now getting a possible solution for the current dilemma.

'Where…Where am I?' Will wondered as she appeared what seemed like a white void. The last things she remembered, was talking to the villagers about how to stop her mother, then she appeared here for some reason.

"We are in your mind, your highness. I thought it best to speak with you here instead of doing it telepathically," A voice said from behind Will and she spun around to face it.

Who Will found, was the Oracle, not that she knew that of course. She knew he existed, but had never met him face to face until now.

"Who are…" Will started to ask, but the Oracle cut her off.

"That is not important right now. All you need to know is that I will see to it that someone goes to get the special tune that will free your mother, but you and some soon to be allies must buy the one I send the time to get it." Oracle told Will, who looked relieved that a solution was on its way.

"But before I send you back to your body, let me give you something that will even the odds a bit more until your reinforcements arrive." The Oracle added and then fired a beam of white light at Will.

Will snapped back reality looking a little startled, while one of the concerned villagers asked, "Are you alight your highness? You went distant for a moment."

Will did not answer right away, since she suddenly felt a massive headache. The redhead then noticed as it faded away, it was replaced with information on a new power. The power to use an advanced Quintessence ability, one that was much more effective to use in combat than simple lighting bolts.

Lighting was good when you need to bring things to life, hit a larger area or wanted to stun someone, but this new power packed a bit more punch.

"I'm okay…no I'm better than okay, because something very good has happened. I don't have time to explain, so please go gather the other villagers and head for a safe place until the battle is over." Will instructed the villagers and they quickly agreed.

Will then dove back into the battle, just as vines grabbed Irma and Hay Lin blasted by her own element. Caleb was dodging lighting bolts and firing Gaea beams, but was not able to punch through Susan's defenses.

"Caleb! Double up!" Will called out to her boyfriend, which made her a target of her own mother's lighting. Will managed to telatransported out of the way though and appears right next to Caleb's side.

Caleb, still recalling Will earlier words, quickly got ready to fire and attack. Will did the same and both let loose a combined attack. Caleb was surprised to see a pink energy beam instead of lighting being fired by Will, but upon seeing the results of new attack, he was not going to complain.

The green and pink beams spun around another and hit Susan's barrier dead on. The two attacks were like a drill and punched a hole right through it and knocked Susan to the ground.

"Will… that was amazing! When did you learn to do that?!" Caleb exclaimed as he watched the seemingly invincible Queen Susan actually get blasted.

Will blushed lightly under her boyfriend's praise, but knew now was not the time for explanations. They needed to get Irma free of the vines that were restraining her and check on Hay Lin. They were going to need them if they were going to keep Queen Susan down until the Horn of Hypnos' spell was broken.

'I just hope whoever that bald guy was sending does the job quickly. There is no way we can hold off mom for long,' Will thought before she told Caleb to go help Irma, while she got Hay Lin.

* * *

Meanwhile, a portal opened up in the middle of the rebel base in the Infinite City, and the Oracle stepped through. Elyon was present and knew that of the Oracle was here, something big must have happened.

"Oracle, why are you here?" A worried Elyon asked who got a quick response of, "I'm afraid something had happened to your aunt. I know you are currently at war with her, but this situation has dire consequences for all Meridian. An object known as the Horn of Hypnos has been used on your aunt and its wielder is using the mind controlled Queen's own power to attack her subjects."

This made Elyon not only gasp in horror, but also two other voices from behind the Oracle as well. The Oracle turned to see the Fire and Earth guardians had arrived as he expected, it saved time if they had over heard what he had told Elyon.

"Where is she? If we don't stop her soon, people will get hurt!" Cornelia exclaimed, while the Oracle raised his hand to calm the Earth Guardian.

"Her daughter and her friends are currently doing battle with Queen Susan as we speak and are keeping her contained for the moment. I will send you to assist them now, but on one condition. You will only help keep the Queen at her current location until Julian arrives to break the spell on her. You will not kill or her steal her powers in any way." The Oracle instructed the three girls, who looked a bit torn at this information.

They had been trying to get the Queen's power away from her for a long time and this was the most ideal time to do it. But if the Oracle made them swear not to, then they might loose the only chance they will ever get.

"We have no choice…we swear we will do as you say Oracle. But why is Julian the one needed to break the spell?" Elyon asked, wondering why the Oracle did not just tell them how to do it or do it himself.

"Julian knows who to go see on how to free Queen Susan of the horn's power. I have sent him a telepathic message before coming to alert him of the task, he will meet you at the village as soon as possible." The Oracle explained and settled the last of the three girls' concerns.

After Elyon gathered the Shagon and the rest of the Knights, the Oracle sent them to the village to assist Will and the others in the battle. 'It is a good thing the Princess was sure to make her brother's warriors swear the oath as well, now they can not carry out their master's secret orders,' the Oracle thought as he watched them disappear.

The Oracle knew Phobos' plan for if and when his sister tried to stop their aunt. The Knights were to insure the Queen was dead and to kill Elyon as well, but with the oath binding them, all they could do was wound the Queen badly at the most.

'It might not be much, but at least it will contain them for the most part,' The Oracle thought as he headed back to Candracar.

* * *

Julian was making his way through the Infinite City as fast as he could, knowing time was of the essence. 'If what the Oracle told me I true, then I must speak with the mage soon, before Caleb gets hurt fighting the Queen,' Julian concluded mentally and used those thoughts as the motivation to move faster.

He reached the stairway that led to the Mage's home and quickly went the flight of steps to see a waterfall. Just as Julian approached the waterfall, the Mage stepped out to greet him.

"It has been sometime since we last seen Julian. I was glad to hear of your return." The powerful woman greeted Julian, a small smile coming across her face.

"I'm sorry have not come to see you sooner Mage and I unfortunately have come for help on an urgent matter, but…" Julian started to say, but the Mage raised her hand to signal him to stop.

"It is quite alright Julian, I know what you seek." The Mage replied and a harp appeared out of the waterfall. It played a tune before the Mage said, "This melody will free the Queen of the horn's trance. Please take the harp, I know music is not your area of expertise, but it's a simple enough tune to perform."

Julian gratefully took the harp and went to go help his son, before it was too late. The Mage watched Julian leave and thought. 'How I hate that Princes Phobos, always causing such chaos with his schemes, when I rule the universe, I'll make sure to deal with him slowly and painfully.'

The woman then disappeared back behind the waterfall once again, planning on waiting to hear of Julian success or failure.

* * *

Elyon, the Guardians and the Knights appeared just out side the village, seeing its inhabitants were making their way away from it as fast as possible. Will, Caleb, Irma and Hay Lin were once again trying to attack Queen Susan, but she had increased the strength of her defenses and now not even Will and Caleb's combined energy beam attack was not having any effect anymore.

"Since when could Will do that?" A confused Cornelia asked, while everyone was stunned to see Will fire off a barrage of pink energy beams at Susan. The beams just bounced off Susan's now much stronger barrier.

"I think we should be more interested in helping stop my aunt than how Will can use a new power," Elyon said to the group and they dove into the battle.

The sudden appearance of several new attacks hitting Susan's barrier caused it to shatter a second time, and sent the powerful Queen flying into one of the nearby huts. Will and her friends quickly got into a defensive stance, thinking the others were here to harm Susan, but Elyon called, "Don't worry, we are here to help!"

"Oh yeah, we are going to believe the ones who just a short time ago, planned on attacking the palace are here to help!" Irma called back at the other princess of Meridian, still more than a little angry from what happened in the last battle.

"Hey, the Oracle made us swear an oath to only help pin that woman down, not harm her!" Cornelia shouted at Irma, but Taranee quickly stepped in as referee.

"Shouldn't we be worried about the titan of magic strength down there, instead of fighting one another up here?" The Fire Guardian told the two bickering girls, who reluctantly backed down.

While this was happening, Elyon and Will were having a discussion of their own. "Looks like we are working together again. I know I can trust you, Cornelia and Taranee to keep your word…but I don't trust them." Will said and gestured to the Knights.

"I know your first encounter with them was a…bad one, but they follow both the commands of my brother and myself to the letter. They won't hurt aunt Susan, I promise." Elyon told Will but the looked over to see Susan finally getting back up.

"Here she comes again!" Elyon called out and the two groups quickly got ready for battle.

"Will, where is your familiar? We could use all the help we can get right now." Elyon asked Will, who replied. "Back at the palace, he was taking nap when we decided to go swimming so I left him behind."

'That explains the swimsuit,' Elyon mused as she noted her cousins interesting choice at battle apparel, but then quickly put those thoughts out her mind as she and the others tried to fend off a powerful blast of wind.

It was no use though and the entire group was caught in a whirlwind and slammed into the ground.

"Mom is this powerful?" Will groaned as she tried to get back her feet, but was too dazed to even see straight right now. It was Caleb and Shagon that where the first to recover and dove into action.

"Lets see how worthy of the princess you really are!" Shagon growled at Caleb, and then unleashed several energy blasts from his eyes.

"More worthy then you'll ever be!" Caleb growled back and open fired as well. The two sets of barrages had surprising strength, making the trance marching Queen focus completely on defense.

'Well…looks like male hormones are good for something after all,' Irma commented in her mind, since both she and the rest of the group heard the trash talk the two boys said to one another.

"I don't believe it. My boyfriend and your guy are holding mom off just because they are fighting over me. Should I be impressed, flattered or worried?" Will asked Elyon, Cornelia and Taranee, all three of which shrugged and watched the two winged warriors unload everything they had on the Queen.

"I'm not letting them have all the fun! Lets got Tridart!" Ember said with an evil cackle and took to the sky, with the ice warrior right behind her. While Caleb and Shagon distracted Susan at ground level, Ember and Tridart let loose a storm of fire and ice attacks from above.

The pressure was building on the mind controlled Queen, yet they could not breach Susan's defenses a third time. Even when Taranee, Elyon and Will joined the battle, the barrier still held firm to the onslaught of attacks.

"Irma! Hay Lin! Take the cat creature there and track the cloaked guy down! We can't let him keep that horn!" Will called over to her friends.

Lynx growled at being called the cat creature, but Elyon quickly scolded the best, "Lynx, if you don't want me to start calling you by your Earth name, get going!" Lynx quickly obeyed the command of his 'mistress' and followed the remaining Guardians in search of the black robed figure.

"Earth name?" Will asked as the she unleashed another barrage of energy beams.

"He's like your familiar, can change from a small black cat to his beast form at will. I gave him a pet name as precaution and Lynx seems to despise it." Elyon explained she fired her own energy beams towards Susan.

The blonde princess said no more, since she wanted to keep her promise to Lynx to not say the name to anyone from Meridian. She had named Lynx's cat Napoleon, but as Elyon said, the cat despised it with a passion.

* * *

"Hey you! Hand over the horn or get a butt kicking!" Irma called out to one in black robes, not knowing it was really Cedric in disguise. Lynx knew though, because of his sense of smell.

Lynx knew better then to expose his true master's (Phobos) secret just yet, so he knew he must 'help' retrieve the Horn of Hypnos. This made the cat creature to jump into the air and pounce down on Cedric, but Phobos' right hand man knew what just to do.

Hr blew the horn at Lynx, knowing that if Lynx would fall under its spell and make the cat creature obey his commands. "Your enemy is not I, it's them!" Cedric said in a deeper then normal tone, so not expose his identity with Elyon, Cornelia and Taranee near by.

Lynx then changed it target of attack two the two girls and quickly took a swipe at them with his claws. "Oh this is just great! The furball is on our side for a change and its still attacking us!" Irma grumbled as she and Hay Lin flew out of Lynx's attack.

* * *

While the Air and Water Guardians battle their 'ally' Cedric continued to run for it. He had achieved his objective, getting Queen Susan to do all the dirty work, so now he was to slip away and wait with Phobos until his aunt conquered Meridian for them.

Back with the battle between Susan and the others, the group was finally able to blast through Susan's defenses several times now. The Queen of Meridian was looking badly pummelled, but since she was a Trance Marcher, Susan just got back up like it was nothing.

"This getting ridiculous! If she were not under that spell, she would out of action by now!" Cornelia called out to the others, as they once again tore thought the barrier the Queen vainly used to hold off the onslaught.

'Cornelia right, no human should be able to take this kind of punishment. But the thing is, this if the first time we have seen the full extent of the Queen's power and now realize how much she has held back in previous battles. Someone as evil as Cornelia and I thought Queen Susan was, should have…won this war by now,' Taranee thought as she kept up her attacks.

The Fire Guardian now truly doubted Phobos claims and was facing a difficult choice. Did she stay with Cornelia and Elyon and help them win this war? Or should she join up with Queen Susan and the others? She knew she needed to decide after this battle was over, but was still unsure of which was the right choice.

"I think we should slow down now! If we keep this up, we'll kill her!" Will called out to the group. Many would have called disagreements to this (mainly The Knights and Cornelia) but Elyon spoke out first.

"Your right, lets fall back and hope Aunt Susan's body it too badly thrashed for her to use her full power now!" With those words, the entire group ceased firing and could now fully see the extent of the damage they had inflicted on Susan.

Her robes were barely holding together, there were deep cuts, gashes, burns and bruises all over Susan's body. It was a horrifying sight for all those present, with the exception Shagon, Tridart and Ember.

Shagon/Matt saw the Queen as the reason the princess was in love with the wrong man and the two elemental creatures were pure evil, so they did not care if Susan looked like she was on the verge of death. All three were smart enough make it look they were not enjoying this sight though, for the sake of Phobos' plans.

"Mom…I'm so sorry." Will whispered as tears came down her face. Cornelia looked she was going to comfort the redhead for a moment, but stubborn mind set prevented her. She still saw Will and Susan as enemies, so she could bring herself to help the distraught girl.

Elyon was about says something to Will, when she saw Susan was actually getting up! "I can't believe my eyes! That blasted horn has made her unstoppable!" Elyon cried out in horror. Even the Knights of Destruction feeling very afraid right now, they were up against force that would not stay down and was packing more mystic might they could ever imagine!

"Will…we can't aim to kill because of our oath, but you can. It might be the only way to stop her!" Elyon said to Will, who was looking hurt by the comment, yet also knew it could very well be true.

"Will, let me do it. It will be easier for me to deliver the final blow and it easier to use me as the scapegoat for those angry at your mother's death," Caleb said to Will and flew into battle with the wounded Queen.

Will moved to stop him but Shagon, grabbed her and pulled her close to his muscular chest. "It's best not to watch your highness," Shagon said in a comforting tone, while Will struggled to break free of the black angel's grasp.

This became impossible though when Cornelia finally broke down and gently stroked Will's hair, the redhead saw the sad expression on the Earth Guardian's face and it sapped the last of Will's desire to fight.

Caleb had briefly looked back to see Shagon embrace Will, but knew it was one sided action. He knew Will would remain loyal, but at lease Shagon's affections for Will served a useful purpose, allow Caleb to finish this before Will tried to stop him again.

'After I'm done though, I'm going to kill that guy for touching Will!' Caleb swore to himself as he touched down on the ground and faced of against Susan.

The Trance Marcher Queen was clearly weakened, so the former rebel leader was certain he could end this on his own. He fired a Gaea beam attack Susan who raised a weak shield to block it. The beam punched thought it with ease and sent Susan crumbling back to the ground.

"I'm sorry my Queen for what I must do." Caleb said softly and powered up his final attack. The fallen Queen was clearly trying to muster the strength for another defensive barrier, but got nothing for her effort.

Just as Caleb was about deliver the final blow, when heard his father call out, "STOP!"

Caleb looked over to see his father rushing up, holding a harp in his hand. Before Caleb can ask what the harp was for, Julian started to play the melody the Mage has taught him. Caleb looked back to see Susan's expression change from zombie like, to her normal one, showing the spell had been broken.

"Caleb…thank you…for…trying to…spare Will the…need to deal the final blow. Please…take this to Will. She'll need to…take over my role…for a while," Susan managed to say and an orb of light flowed out Susan's chest and over to Caleb.

Susan's eyes then drifted shut, Julian quickly checking the Queen over and said, "She is alright, but will need to see a healer as soon as possible."

This was when Will finally flew over and looked at Caleb, who was holding the orb out to Will. "You are acting Queen of Meridian for now Will. I believe…this is the Light of Meridian. Please…take it, your mother said she wanted you to have it." Caleb told Will, who backed away from the orb, as if she was afraid of it.

"It…It does not belong to me, it belong to mom! I can't…." Will started to say, when the orb flew out of Caleb's hands and into Will's chest. The power of the Light of Meridian coursed through Will's body and infused her with its energies.

'Trust your mother's judgment, Princess. Both she and I believe you are more than worthy to weald my power.' The voice of Meridian said to Will, for the first time speaking to the redheaded princess.

As Will recovered from the transfusion of power, Caleb embraced her with one arm and fired a Gaea blast at Shagon/Matt with the other. Elyon and Cornelia winced as the watched Shagon drop like a rock after getting hit, thinking to a degree the black winged warrior had been asking for that when he grabbed Will.

Meanwhile, Irma, Hay Lin and Lynx were finally returning from their attempt at catching the one in black robes. All three looked a little roughed up from their battle with each other and looked clearly annoyed at failing their mission.

Both Hay Lin and Irma looked very said thought when the set eyes on Susan and saw Will embracing Caleb. "Will…we are sorry, but we could not get the horn. If we had then we might have been able to stop this from happening," Hay Lin said to the grieving and exhausted princess, but got no response.

"You should worry about what if, Irma. Right now we need to get the Queen back to the palace to see healer right away. We'll hunt down the one who did this later," Caleb told the Air Guardian, before turning to speak with Elyon and the others.

"You better get going. If the Queen followed her usual tactics, a large number of solders will be coming soon and the last thing you want is to be caught in the middle of that," The former rebel leader told the second princess of Meridian, the final two Guardians and the Knights of Destruction.

The group agreed and left the village quickly as possible. Julian was the last to leave, since he stopped to tell Caleb something. "Be on guard Caleb, Phobos will not let this chance to end the war pass by. With the Queen wounded and the princess new at using the Light of Meridian's power, he will most likely try to launch another attack on the palace." With those words, Julian left the village, leaving behind a stunned but grateful Caleb.

'A father first and a rebel leader last,' Caleb commented in his mind as he held Will close. Shortly after the girls and knights left, Raythor rode into the village, with a squadron of solders behind him.

"The villagers retreating from the village told me what happened. Is the Queen…" Raythor started to asked, but Caleb cut him off.

"Alive, but badly injured. My father broke the spell with a tune he played so the only things we need to worry about is tending to her injuries." Caleb answered the Queen right hand man.

Right after Caleb finished speaking, Lucia quickly came walking up and went over to Susan, who Will had been sitting beside since she recovered from gaining Meridian's power.

"Don't worry your highness, I'll make sure your mother will be alright." Lucia said in an attempt to sooth the princess, which helped a little. Once the initial treatment was done, Lucia had Will telatransport the group of magic users back to the palace, while Raythor remained behind to ensure the village was safe again.

* * *

Taranee was walking through the rebel camp, she pondered what her decision would be. 'I don't think I can fight this war anymore, but do I have the right to just quit or switch sides?' Taranee asked herself, just as she walked by the meeting tent and heard Phobos voice say, "So we have lost the Horn?"

This made Taranee stop instantly and listen what else was said. What she heard next, would help make her final decision. "Yes my prince. The second the horn's spell was broke it crumbled into dust. The good news is at least the Queen has been neutralized, making a second attack on the palace possible." Cedric replied, making Taranee quickly clamp her hand over her mouth to keep a gasp from escaping.

"True, but before my aunt passed out, she gave Meridian's power to my cousin. Though she is clueless on how to use it to its fullest extent, it will still make an attack difficult. We will need to plan carefully if we are to succeed this time. I tire of this farce of being Meridian's 'noble prince' so claiming the power is essential. " Phobos told his right hand man and let Taranee hear what she needed to know.

Taranee ran from the Infinite City, knowing she would not be able to prove to anyone what she had heard. 'I'm sorry Cornelia and Elyon, but need to help Will end this war and stop Phobos!' Taranee thought as she headed back to Meridian's surface.

Once outside, she heard the Oracle's voice speak in her mind, 'You have the discovered the truth, Fire Guardian, so I must warn you, I must transfer your mystic energy to the Earth Guardian. I'll open portal that will take you home, before starting the transfer thought and once you recover, you'll need to go see Princess Wilhelmina. She will restore what I must take.'

With that, a portal opened before the dark skinned girl and dove through and landed on her bed of all things. Just as the portal closed behind her, Taranee felt as if something was being sucked out of her and slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Just as her eyes shut, Taranee mumbled in a amused tone, "Cornelia is going to have my hide when she sees me next."

* * *

Back on Meridian, Cornelia felt a surge of power flow through her. Cornelia recognized the feeling instantly knew what had happened. 'Taranee…I hope you just got tired of fighting because I don't want to fight you as well.'

* * *

AN: There you go, please let me know what you thought.


	18. Battle for the Meridian Plains

AN: Here is the next next chapter of War for Meridian's Throne, just two more two go!

I would like to thank Knight for beta reading this story and for reviewing it as well. I would also like to thank Philip Gipson, fergnerd, JCE1985, Taeniaea and steve rogers as well.

000

Chapter 18: Battle for the Meridian Plains

Upon returning to the place, Susan was immediately taken away to have her wounds treated. Will would have followed, but Lucia said it would be best if the redhead stayed clear until they were done.

Caleb, Irma and Hay Lin made sure to encourage Will to go rest, since she had been through the most from the ordeal. When Will was seen safely to her room, Caleb turned to Irma and Hay Lin and said, "Try to come to Meridian as often as you can, until Queen Susan has recovered. Between the threat of Phobos attacking again and Will being in a fragile state of mind right now, your probably needed here more than ever."

Both Irma and Hay Lin nodded their heads and then headed for home so their parents did not start to wonder where they were. They would be back soon though, to both help Will through her greatest ordeal yet and to insure the palace and city were secure.

000

In her room, Will did not even bother to change out of her swimsuit as she climbed on to her bed and cried. Huggles got off his small cushion and tried to comfort his mistress by snuggling up to her.

This made Will embrace and cuddle the dormouse, managing to draw some comfort from her familiar. "Thank you, Huggles. I need someone right now but the others need to rest and mom is hurt because of me, so you're the only one I have right now," Will told the small gray rodent, who just looked up at his mistress with a curious expression.

As Will scratched the dormouse's head, she continued, "I'm the acting Queen right now and know I need to be strong for everyone's sake, but I don't know if I can do it." Will's response was a gentle bite to her finger, a sign of the small creature's disapproval.

Despite how upset she was feeling, Will giggled at the 'scolding' her familiar just gave her. It seemed to snap Will out of it, since Huggles was the first to actually contradict her. Everyone else had either been in the battle or saw the outcome, so everyone was sympathizing with her, but Huggles was clearly a bit more objective.

"Thanks for bringing me back to my senses, Huggles. I still don't think I'm anywhere near ready to take over for mom, I guess I'll have to give it a shot. The first thing I'm going to do is end this war. Phobos had to be behind the attack on the village and using the horn on mom. It's time we brought him down." Will told her familiar, who was back to acting like the gentle and supportive creature it normally was towards the redhead.

Just then, Will heard a knock on the door and Caleb's voice asks, "Will can I come in?"

Will did not say anything; instead she got up and opened the door, much to Caleb's surprise at seeing a small smile on Will's face. She still looked upset, but seemed to have gained a good deal of her inner strength back, which was proven when she said, "Caleb, it's good you're here. I need you to help me with something and I need it ready before Raythor gets back so I can get his opinion on it."

"What do you mean, Will?" Caleb asked in genuine confusion, but fortunately for him, Will was quick to explain further.

"I think we both know who was behind the attack on that village and who planned on using my mother to attack her own people. There is no proof, but Phobos had to be behind it somehow. Even with that tune your father used to break the spell, we can't let Phobos have a chance to use the horn again." Will told Caleb, who was now realizing Will's plan.

"You mean your going to…" Caleb started say, but Will finished the sentence for him.

"Attack the Infinite City. It's time we ended this war, once and for all!"

000

The next day, Taranee was back to full strength after loosing her powers. Her family was more than a bit worried to find Taranee passed out on her bed and looking so exhausted last night, but when she assured them she was fine, she was finally able to get out of the house and hunt for Hay Lin and Irma.

'Need to find them and tell them about the horn and Phobos. They'll be glad to know it's gone at least, but they need to warn Will about the attack!' Taranee thought as she headed for the Silver Dragon, planning in starting her search there.

As she entered the restaurant, Taranee was 'greeted' by Yan Lin. The former Air Guardian was not being hostile towards the ex-Fire Guardian, but she was being cautious. "Table for one?" Yan Lin asked politely, but kept a close eye on the dark-skinned girl, but noticed Taranee had a different aura about her now.

"I need to see Hay Lin actually. It's about our…club," Taranee said in a cautious tone, not wanting to risk using certain words that might attract attention.

Yan Lin noted the urgent tone in Taranee's voice and nodded, pointing to the stairs that led to the Lin's home above the restaurant. "Both she and Irma are upstairs, Taranee. Go on up and…what's wrong?" Yan Lin started to say, but then noticed Taranee went pale.

"I stood a chance if it was just Hay Lin, but if Irma is up there, I might as well just jump off the roof. It would be quicker that way." The dark skinned girl said in a defeated tone of voice, which Yan Lin chuckled at.

"Don't worry; I'll make sure they put 'She died for the sake of a world' on your tombstone." The old woman joked, as she watched Taranee go up after the young girl replied, "Gee thanks! That makes me feel a lot better!"

000

"So…should we see if Will wants to go shopping? A girls' day out might cheer her up," Hay Lin suggested as she and Irma tried to brainstorm ideas on how to help Will. They were unaware she already had been helped by Huggles, so they were still trying to come up with a plan to get Will's mind off the previous day's events.

"I don't think she is allowed to be away from Meridian right now, Hay Lin. Standing in as Queen until her mom has recovered probably has her chained to throne," Irma replied as she shot down the Air Guardian's idea.

"Meridian has shops too though. Maybe we could go to them instead, that way Will is still near the palace if something…." Hay Lin started to say, but then noticed a small white flag being waved out of the corner of her eye.

Both girls turned to see Taranee's head peeking around the corner, which promptly got Irma throwing a nea by couch cushion at the ex-Fire Guardian. "Ah!" Taranee yelped and got her head out of the way of the projectile.

"Don't you know you are not supposed to fire on a white flag?!" Taranee called out from behind her corner, not daring to look out and risk a second attack.

"You came into enemy territory and expected not to get fired on? And here we thought you were the genesis?!" Irma called back, but Hay Lin quickly stepped in to keep a fight from breaking out.

"What do you want, Taranee? If you're here to cause trouble I swear I'll make you pay!" Hay Lin state coldly, while she kept Irma from charging over to Taranee's hiding place.

The former Fire Guardian breathed a sigh of relief at hearing Hay Lin trying to restore the peace and knew this was her chance to tell her old friend what had happened. "I know who used the Horn of Hypnos on Queen Susan. I overheard Phobos and Cedric talking about it and that it crumbled to dust after Julian broke the spell on the Queen. They are planning another attack on the palace, you need to warn Will!" Taranee called back, hoping this noise was not being heard downstairs.

The next thing Taranee knew, there came the sound of two pairs of feet thundering towards her hiding spot. Before she could even think of trying to run, Taranee was grabbed by the other two girls and dragged down to the restaurant below.

Once they reached it, Hay Lin called over out her grandma, "Going out for a few hours!" With that, the two girls and the confused Taranee went out the door, while Yan Lin smiled and shook her head.

"Kids!" The old woman exclaimed, getting a chuckle from some of the costumers who heard it.

000

"Where are we going?!" Taranee asked as she tried to keep up as Irma and Hay Lin dragged her along behind them.

"To warn Will!" the other two girls stated at the same time and headed to where their hidden portal to Meridian was located. Susan had left them a permanent doorway in an abandoned building, so Irma and Hay Lin had a way to come and go as they pleased.

"Once we are on the other side, we'll transform and carry you the rest of the way. By the way, when did Phobos plan to attack?" Irma asked as they approached the portal and took out her pendent for when she transformed.

"I did not stick around long enough to get the details. For all I knew, I would have been caught spying, so I decided to leave while it was still safe," Taranee answered, while looking at the pendent in confusion.

"At least Caleb's theory was right about Phobos' possibly attack while Will's mom was down. Now that we know the attack is going to happen, Will, Caleb and Raythor can commit more troops to the castle's defense," Hay Lin said she took out her own pendant and stepped through the portal.

After they were on Meridian, Hay Lin and Irma called out, "Air Guardian!" "Water Guardian!" The two changed into their Guardian forms while Taranee watched in awe.

'So that's how they got their powers back,' Taranee thought as she watched the two finish transforming and lifted her into the air. They then headed straight for the castle, knowing Will needed to start making battle plans right away, not knowing this had been started the day before.

000

"I have to say this is a bold plan, your highness. But your mother has known about the rebel base in the Infinite City since the time your two friends joined our side. I know she worried about cornering Phobos too soon, so maybe we should use this plan, but wait a bit more before implementing it," Raythor suggested, thought he was clearly impressed by the battle plan.

It's main strength was its simplicity and straightforward approach. Attack a few of the main entrances to the Infinite City and flush the rebels out into the open was the first step of the plan. The rebels would be forced to launch a final offensive on the castle in hopes of winning the war, which was where the second step would begin.

Unlike the last attack on the palace, the rebels were worn out now and had lost the advantage of having new allies the royal army was unfamiliar with. Now the supporters of Queen Susan almost had an opponent for each of Phobos' best warriors, so that combined with the fact the royal army was now better organized to counter an attack, the rebel forces would most likely be beaten in a single blow.

Both Will and Caleb had been expecting this when they made the plan and knew the veteran solder was right, but both had agreed they needed to strike before Phobos did. But the problem was convincing Raythor of this, since he was the commander of the Royal Army.

Will might outrank Raythor, but she knew to force a man who had seen more battles than she ever would to go along with this attack would be just plain stupid. They needed to give Raythor a more solid and justified reason then, 'Phobos might attack soon'.

'If we knew for sure Phobos was going to attack then we might be able…' Will started to think, when she heard a knock at the door.

"Enter" Raythor answered, since this was his office. He was surprised to see Taranee and to be escorted in by Irma and Hay Lin.

"Will, good news and bad news at the same time," Irma commented before anyone could say a thing.

000

Taranee explained what she had heard Phobos and Cedric say and planned on getting the rebels to try a second attack, giving Will just what she needed to convince Raythor to carry out the attack.

"You heard what Taranee said Raythor. Wouldn't it be better for the attack on the palace to a time of our choosing instead of Phobos'?" Will said to the commander of her mother's forces who was looking furious about this news.

"You are correct, your highness. If Phobos wants one final battle, then we shall give him one! We will need time to position the troops for your plan, but by this time next week, the rebellion will fall and Phobos will finally answer for his crimes," Raythor replied and left to organize the employment of the troops.

It is crucial that the rebels did not expect the troops were being readied to attack the rebels' main base, but that would be an easy task. The deployment of the extra troops would be easily hidden by making it look like they were fortifying their defenses in case of a second attack. By the time rebels found out otherwise, it would be too late.

As Raythor left Will looked at Taranee and said with a friendly smile, "Thanks for telling us, Taranee, now maybe we can put an end to this senseless civil war now."

Taranee smiled back; glad to know she could help the right side for a change. "You're welcome, Will. Just wish I could help more," Taranee replied, knowing she could do so much more now that she was a normal girl once again.

Will smiled knowingly at Irma, Hay Lin and Caleb, who smiled back as well. Will then looked toward Taranee again and said, "There might just be way actually."

000

A few minutes later and with a little help from the Voice of Meridian, Will infused the last pendent from the Oracle with mystic energy and gave it to Taranee. The dark skinned girl slipped it around her neck and called out, "Fire Guardian!"

Once she emerged from the orange sphere that followed those words, she was back in Guardian form, though she noticed she felt less empowered than usual. "It's going to take time getting used to having less power," Taranee commented, but was glad to have her powers back nonetheless.

"You should have enough power to take on that Tridart guy though. Should make our plans a bit easier Will," Caleb said to both Taranee and Will at the same time.

Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin's confusion was obvious so Will explained. "As you heard from Raythor earlier, we are planning an attack on the rebellion's main base in the Infinite City, but we need to try and keep the rebellion's heavy hitters from attacking our troops by giving each one an opponent," Will said, before Caleb took over.

"We have so far a match for Lynx using Kor, Shagon with me, Ember with Irma and now you and Tridart, Taranee. Will has to deal with Cornelia of course, possibly even Phobos, since Will has the Light of Meridian's power now. That just leaves Hay Lin to face Elyon and we just stick with the usual set up to deal with…C.U.B.S." Caleb told the group as he wrapped up the explanation for Will's to deal with the rebellions strongest during the final battle.

Everyone had a small laugh at the acronym that Hay Lin had given Phobos' original four warriors, but Hay Lin had questions about her match up for the final battle. "How come I'm fighting Elyon? I can understand the other matches ups, but how do mine have any special effect on her?"

"Its only because you were the only one left Hay Lin, originally I thought about matching you up against Tridart, but with Taranee on our side, it's better if we fight him with the fire element," Will explained to the petite Asian, who now understood her role.

"Guess that means Neo W.I.T.C.H. is going to be seeing action very soon." Taranee commented, quickly getting looks of confusion of the Neo W.I.T.C.H. name.

"Well since everyone's name has the initials to spell W.I.T.C.H., but Caleb is new, we are Neo W.I.T.C.H." Taranee explained which the others liked the sound of. They were now officially Neo W.I.T.C.H.: Guardians of Meridian!

000

It had been a long week for the rebellion. With news of the Fire Guardian leaving the ranks to (they assumed) to recover from battle fatigue and Phobos saying they must make a final push to end the war, everyone was growing tired of the constant battles. They still would follow Phobos to the end, but they were just so worn out.

"Looks like Phobos is right to push for another attack. The men's spirits are so low right now; they only have enough energy left for one last battle. If we don't win the next battle, the rebellion will fall apart and the Queen will win," Aldarn said to Drake and they tried to make plans for the upcoming battle.

"Ya and if that happens, who know how long it will take get a new rebellion going, if that would even be possible. Even if Phobos could gather a new army, the Queen would only further solidify her rule and make winning that much harder," Aldarn agreed, wishing Caleb was here right now.

'It has been the loss of Caleb that has started this problem. If only he had not gone off to kidnap the princess, we would not be in this mess!' Drake thought, as he looked at the map of the Meridian Plains. This would be where they would march on the palace from, where the city would take the least amount of damage, but neither man could think of a guaranteed attack plan.

They knew Cornelia would be critical in the assault, since her powers of the Earth element would be able make a portion of the outer wall crumble and let their troops into the castle. But the trick was how to give her the time to do it. Will would probably be targeting the Earth Guardian as soon as she entered the battle and other elite warriors would have their hands full with other opponents.

"Where is Julian? Shouldn't he be here as well?" Aldarn asked as he looked up from the map.

"With Vathek, guarding the main entrance. Probably wants some time away from the camp, his son is the enemy now right after all. Probably wants some time to think," Aldarn replied, knowing the veteran warrior was probably the most depressed of the whole rebellion.

000

"So…when do you think we will attack? From what I heard, no set plan has been made because Phobos wants to make sure all of our numbers before making the plans. Probably takes a while since it will take time to get word to them all," Vathek asked Julian, while the large blue man sharpened his spear.

"The attack is pointless in my opinion. I would say laying low and waiting for the troops to regain their fighting spirit would be a better plan. But I guess the pressure of ending this war quickly is what is motivating Phobos to do this." Julian replied, though deep down he believed Phobos had other intentions with this attack.

'If he is the one who was behind the death of Queen Weira, then he is probably more interested in claiming the power from Princess Wilhelmina before her mother recovers enough to take it back. Then again, I might just be getting paranoid after all those years in the mines, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see,' Julian pondered as he sharpened his own weapon as well.

The two then just passed the time in silence as they continued their sharpening. Vathek had been hoping Julian would have useful information, but if the princess' plan was successful, it probably would not matter what the rebellion had intended to do.

'It is probably even better there is no set plan of attack or organization at the moment. It makes the princess' plan that much more effective,' Vathek concluded in his mind as he waited for the Royal Army to make its move.

000

"It is time. Get ready to charge the entrance. Remember the giant blue warrior that should be at the entrance is one of ours, so only make it look like you'll attack him if he is with someone else." The commander of the small attack group ordered his troops, who were eager deliver the first blow of the rebellion's downfall.

With a nod of confirmation from the soldier closest to him, the commander began moving the troops down the stone stairway.

000

"What's that?" Julian asked he dropped the sharpening stone he had and got into a battle stance. Unknown to him, Vathek already knew what coming and was moving to collapse the entrance.

"That would be the rebellion's end coming down the stairs." Vathek replied to Julian, before he jumped up and grabbed the rope that pulled the support beam out to cause a cave in and make the rebels start to fall into the trap Will had set.

Julian did not even get a chance to respond because of the cloud of dust that filled the air after the rocks fell into place. Once the dust cloud settled, Julian was greeted by the sight of several heavily armed guards before him and one spear being pointed at his back by Vathek.

"Surrender, Julian, Caleb would not want to see you hurt," Vathek ordered the man before him, who dropped his weapon in defeat. Julian was no fool and he was not going to die foolishly, not when he was more eager to see if Phobos was who he said he was or just a wolf in sheep's clothing.

'Can't see it happen if I'm dead after all. Besides, I might get to see Caleb before I'm thrown into a cell,' Julian mused, as he was lead back up to the surface.

000

"Of all times for them to find us!" Phobos growled as he watched the rebels scurry to gather their weapons and prepare to attack the palace. He could not believe his cousin would do something so bold and try to end the war in one fell swoop!

'I underestimated her. I thought she would be like her mother and only do such a thing if they were desperate or had no other choice, but I guess I was wrong. Good thing a large number of troops were deployed away from the castle. It should take them time to return to assist in its defense…or will it,' Phobos wondered as he grabbed Jeek, who was passing by and told him to go fetch his sister on Earth.

It took a clear threat that Phobos would VERY displeased if both his sister and the Earth Guardian were not on at the battle field within an hour. This got the cowardly creature to do it task quickly out of fear of the prince's wrath.

000

"The attack is going as planned so far, you highness. Our scouts and spies report that the rebels are gathering to attack the caste with all they have left. Plus our legions should return in time catch the rebels in a pincer attack. There is no way Phobos will escape this time," Raythor reported, while Will looked out on the Meridian plains from the castle wall.

"Guess that's a good thing then. Raythor…what do you think mom would have done in my place? Would she have attacked the rebel base or stayed with whatever plan she originally had?" Will asked, a part of her wondering if she had made the right choice in trying to end the war with this attack plan.

"It would be hard to say, your highness. It would depend on what had happened and when. If for example, it had been you instead of her who had been hurt because of Phobos using the horn, then I would think she would have launched an attack like this," Raythor responded, knowing his princess was going through something many princesses went through when they took over their mother's duties, even if only for a short time.

The young girl would second-guess herself and would ask, either verbally or mentally, are they doing the right thing? Is this what mother would do? And so forth. It was natural for a princess to compare herself to her mother, until she grew comfortable with her newly gained responsibilities.

After taking a moment to take in Raythor's words, Will asked a second question. "Do you think mom would be for this idea then? A lot of people will die today, on both sides. Most of them are just those fighting for what they believe in, even if it is a lie. All of that pain and suffering for just…" Will started to say, but went silent and shut her eyes tight, tears starting come down the side of her face.

Raythor put a comforting hand on Will's shoulder and said, "Making such decisions and then having doubts are normal, your highness. By all rights, you should have never needed to make this decision, but thanks to your cousin, you needed to make a difficult choice. You either stop Phobos now or risk him causing more destruction while your mother is recovering from her injuries."

"Raythor's right, Will." The redheaded princess and the veteran soldier heard Caleb's voice say, and the two looked over to where it came from.

Caleb was already transformed into his Guardian form and was followed by Hay Lin and Irma. Taranee was nearby, but staying out of sight until the battle began. The group thought the Fire Guardian appearing from out of nowhere and attacking the rebels, would give the royal army an extra edge in the coming battle.

"Don't worry Will. After today, Phobos will be beaten and Meridian will be safe again," Hay Lin added with kind smile, just before Irma said, "Ya! Then you and Caleb can have some quiet time alone together and give you mother some…ah!"

Irma was quickly cut off by a lighting attack, since Will had a very good idea of what Irma going to say next. The redhead knew the Water Guardian was only trying to get Will's mind off the things worrying her, but that did not mean the acting queen was going to let Irma get off easily!

"Irma! Get back here!" Will screamed as she chased after the Water Guardian while the others had a laugh at the sight.

"Well…that's one way to help the princess relax. I just hope there will be still be a Water Guardian left when the battle begins," Raythor said as a smirk formed on his face and watched his princess try to blast Irma with lighting.

000

"Why would they attack with Aunt Susan still recovering from the last battle? You would think they would want things to remain quiet, not go looking for a fight!" Elyon exclaimed, as both she and Cornelia followed Jeek to the portal he had used to get to Earth.

"Well they have been fighting your brother for years, so they might have realized he might try an attack of his and decided to strike first," Cornelia told her friend and they dived through the portal.

When they exited, they saw found themselves on a cliff that overlooked the plains. They knew the rebel army would be here soon, so instead of meeting up with it, they would wait here.

"Well, looks like I better get ready." Cornelia said and took out the Heart of Candracar.

Upon saying the words, 'Guardians Unite' both the Earth Guardian and Elyon found it seemed to sound less impressive, now that Cornelia was the only one left.

'We have got to end this war and prove the Queen is evil. Then maybe the others will come back, because this solo Guardian thing is hard,' Cornelia thought as she and Elyon waited for the battle to begin.

000

Two hours later, the rebel forces were marching on the palace. Virtually the entire rebellion was in on this attack, only a few small pockets had not been able to join up because of being too far away.

The small army was roughly five thousand members strong and was ready to fight to the death to take the palace in this final attack.

Phobos stood at the front of his army, with Cedric, Miranda, Tracker and Frost to one side of him and Shagon, Ember and Tridart to the other. "I sense my sister, Lynx and the Earth Guardian are near. At least that little smuggler got them here in time," Phobos said, before turning to face his troops.

"Our time is at hand! Let us topple the Queen and the traitors that follow her! For Meridian!" Phobos called so as to inspire rebels to fight for him…one last time.

"For Meridian!" The rebel forces called out and started to charge the castle.

000

"Well here they come," Caleb said as he kept an eye on Shagon and waited for Will's signal to attack. Irma was doing the same for her own opponent, but Hay Lin was still trying to see where Elyon was.

"Not that I want to fight her, but…where is Elyon? I don't see her anywhere," Hay Lin asked, as she tried to find the other princess of Meridian.

"Maybe she and Cornelia are on Earth right now and don't know of the attack yet," Irma suggested as she did the same as Caleb and watched her chosen opponent carefully.

"We don't get that lucky," Will commented, but silently hoped her friend's theory was right. It would make the battle so much easier if Elyon and Cornelia were not present for as long as possible.

"Either way your highness, we must begin our counterattack. Do not worry, your troops and myself will deal with the rebels. You do what you must do," Raythor told Will, who nodded her head and took to the air.

'Let's go guys! Hay Lin, you and Kor stay here until your match ups arrive.' Will said into the mental link Taranee had set up for them. With the fire Guardian on their side again, now they had her to relay messages with ease.

Hay Lin and Kor nodded their heads in confirmation, while Irma and Caleb joined Will in the air. 'Guess that means I better move into position. Hope Tridart can take the heat,' Taranee said in the mental link.

The Fire Guardian's commented brought a small smirk to Will's face. She could just imagine the looks of shock on the rebels' faces when Taranee started blasting Tridart with fireballs.

'Be careful Taranee, who know how the rebels or Phobos will react when you join the battle,' Will replied into the mind link and sensed the Fire Guardian giving her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry Will. I have too much to make up for, to be taken down so easily,' Taranee told Will, before every moved out to battle Phobos' forces.

000

"Here we go Elyon. You ready?" Cornelia asked her friend as they watched the battle begin. The second princess of Meridian nodded her head, as Lynx transformed in his battle form and got ready for battle.

'Then let's go! We'll end this war today!" Cornelia exclaimed and three charged into the war zone.

000

"Shagon! I'm taking you down for good this time!" Caleb roared as he fired a Gaea beam from his hands, while Shagon countered with an energy beam from his eyes.

"I won't be defeated by you!" Shagon roared back, as the beams met head on. It became a test of strength to see who could overpower the other.

Neither young man backed down though and the two beams quickly built up so much energy, they exploded! The light blinded Shagon and Caleb, but the former rebel did not wait to regain his sight before attacking again.

He flew straight forward and slammed into the black winged boy, knocking him from the sky. Shagon regained his sight though; just as he hit the ground, letting him fire another blast from his eyes at Caleb.

Caleb managed to dodge it, but did not see Shagon quickly taking to the air and giving Caleb an uppercut.

The former rebel leader quickly recovered and punched Shagon in the gut. Caleb then brought his hands together and got ready to slam them into Shagon's back, but the dark angel brought his own hands up to block the blow.

"Gotcha!" Shagon exclaimed and his eyes began to glow. Caleb knew what was coming, but Shagon kept his grip on Caleb's arms, making it impossible for Caleb to escape. Shagon's energy beam blasted Caleb at point blank range.

As Caleb fell towards the ground, Shagon thought he had won, but he could not have been more wrong. In an act of pure instinct, Caleb called on his powers over the Earth element and a large number of vines burst forth from the ground.

As they scattered rebels below, the vines also shot up very quickly and caught Caleb in mid air. This cushioned his fall and let him fire a counter attack at his opponent. Shagon barely had enough time to bring his arms up to shield himself.

Though Shagon was able to keep himself from being blasted from the sky, Caleb's attack hurt a great deal, adding to his hatred of the former rebel.

"I will not loose to him!" Shagon growled quietly, before both he and Caleb dove at one another again, one hoping to defeat the other.

000

"Uh-oh! Here come the other Kor. We'd better get going!" Hay Lin said as she caught sight of Elyon, Cornelia and Lynx.

Both the Air Guardian and the familiar made their way to intercept the incoming opponent, Hay Lin by air and Kor by running along the castle's wall.

Kor and Lynx dove at one another and began their rematch since their last battle, while Hay Lin sent a powerful guest of wind at Elyon. The second princess of Meridian quickly raised a defensive barrier though, shielding both herself and Cornelia from the attack.

"Nice try, Hay Lin, but you'll need to do better then that to beat both of us!" Elyon stated confidently, but was unnerved by Hay Lin's smirk.

"My job is just you, Elyon. Cornelia gets to fight someone else," Hay Lin replied, just before Will telatransported next to the Asian girl. "Which would be me. Care to dance, Corny? I'll lead." Will stated with a smirk and got a growl from Cornelia, who chased after the redhead, for using the forbidden word.

"Get back you here you royal pain!" Cornelia screamed and Will led the blonde away so Hay Lin had room to battle Elyon and not worry about the Earth Guardian getting involved.

"So...should we follow their example, Elyon?" Hay Lin asked as she took a mock fighting stance in mid air, signaling Elyon to come and get her.

Elyon was happy to comply and fired a white energy beam at the Air Guardian. Hay Lin dodged the beam with ease because of speed and the dual between Light and Air magic began.

Hay Lin's attacks could not breach Elyon defenses, but Elyon could not hit the speedy flyer, so the battle was even. In the end, this meant Hay Lin had won since she had achieved her objective. With Elyon preoccupied, she could not help in the battle, meaning as long she battled Hay Lin, everything was going according to plan.

000

Meanwhile, Irma was going after Ember, but Tridart was making the Water Guardian's attack difficult. 'Taranee, now would be a good time to for you to join in! I got a fridge with wings and a flying inferno on my tail!' Irma screamed into the mind link as she got shot at with fireballs and ice shards.

'On the way Irma!' Taranee replied and moments later, a barrage of fireballs slammed into Tridart, sending him flying into a catapult that belonged to the rebels. "Ember!" Tridart roared at the fire elemental.

"It wasn't me!" Ember called out in her own defense, but got a blast of ice shards fired at her. "Ow! That hurt you titanic glacier!" Ember screamed out when the shards hit their mark and made the fiery woman shoot back.

While the two Knights of Destruction attacked one another, Irma asked the approaching Taranee, "You plan that or did it just happen?"

"There is no way I could plan something like this. Do you want to tell them or should I?" Taranee asked Irma who shook her head no before replying, "Are you kidding? This is the funniest thing I have seen in months!"

Taranee looked back at the fight between the two elemental warriors and had to admit, watching them pound on each other was better than fighting them.

"You know…you're right. All we are missing is some soft drinks and some popcorn and this would be perfect," Taranee said with a grin and got a laugh from Irma, before they went back to watching the fight between Tridart and Ember.

000

Back with Will and Cornelia, the battle was not going so well for the blonde. With the power of the Light of Meridian backing her, Will was able to hold off the Earth Guardian, despite having access to all the raw mystic energy of all five Guardians.

But Will's advantage did not last long when Phobos got involved. Will still had more power than the evil prince and the Earth Guardian combined, but not enough to give her any real edge in the fight.

"Give up cousin; you do not have the skill or experience to wield Meridian's power to its fullest. It was foolish for you to launch an attack on the Infinite City and try and use power you have no idea on how to control," Phobos said as he fired a beam of white energy at Will, but was blocked by a pink energy shield that Will created.

"I might not be as skilled or as powerful as my mom, Phobos, but I was not going to let you attack when it suited you best. Now you're fighting a losing battle and soon this war will be over!" Will shot back, while fending off a barrage of stones that Cornelia sent flying at her.

"You're right, Will, this war will be over soon! When you and your mother are stopped once and for all!" Cornelia yelled at Will and her hands started to glow with green light.

'No…it couldn't be!' Will thought as she realized what the light meant and quickly increased the strength to her shield. Will was just barely able to block the Gaea blast in time, the one power no one expected Cornelia to have.

In the Oracle's attempt to keep Cornelia from gaining other elemental powers because of gaining so much mystic energy, the normal Earth Guardian powers evolved and gave Cornelia the ability to use the power of Earth element attack.

'This is not good,' Will mentally concluded, just before both Cornelia and Phobos opened fired on Will with a barrage of energy blasts.

Knowing that trying to block all those attack was too dangerous, Will telatransported out of the way of the barrage and reappeared behind them. "Eat this! Quintessence!" Will said and fired a lighting bolt from each hand, one for each opponent.

Phobos got hit by her lighting bolt, but Cornelia dodged hers and shouted back, "I'm not hungry!" Cornelia then revealed another new trick she had learned, how to telatransport! She appeared right behind Will and blasted the redhead with a Gaea beam, sending her crashing to the ground.

Will let out a groan as she got to knees, now knowing Phobos was nearby and had recovered from the lighting bolt that had hit him.

'Now is my chance! Meridian's power will be mine and then in a few days, after the rebels think they have defeated the real tyrant, my Lurden army will move in and finish them off as well!' Phobos thought manically and made several vines sprout out of the ground and grab Will.

The redhead was too dazed to realize what was going on, but Cornelia did. But since the Earth Guardian thought Phobos was good, she just watched on, while Phobos began to leech the power of Meridian out of Will.

Will let out screams of pain because of the power being forcefully ripped out of her and into Phobos. No one who could have helped Will realized this though, they were too busy with their own battles to hear Will cries and by the time they did, it would be too late.

Or would it?

000

In Queen Susan's room, Lucia and several guards stood watch over the sleeping woman, not knowing something was happening in her dreams.

Dream:

"Your daughter is in danger!" The voice of Meridian called to Susan, who felt like she was floating in a void.

"What do…you mean?" Susan asked weakly, be her tone still carried clear concern for Will's safety.

"Phobos is stealing the Light of Meridian from her, but I can stop him from claiming a complete victory at least. But you must save your daughter yourself, Susan." The voice of Meridian told Susan, which was all the dark haired woman needed to hear.

"Gladly…but how? I'm still…too…weak," Susan asked, trying to will herself to awaken, but was failing so far.

"I will take care of that Susan. But first take this," The Voice of Meridian told Susan and an orb of white light appeared before her. The Queen quickly grabbed onto the light and realized what it was.

It was the power to control the flow of magic in Meridian. Without it, Phobos might be a powerful force to be reckoned with, but he could not shut the flow of power off to Meridian other magic users like Will, her friends or Susan herself.

After absorbing the power into herself, Susan was engulfed in a bright light, before awakening in the real world.

Dream ends:

The people in Susan's room watched in awe and fear when they saw her body glowing with white light. After a few moments, the light stopped and Susan started to get out of her bed, despite Lucia's protests.

"My Queen, you must rest! If you get up now…" Lucia started to say, but Susan ignored her and magically changed from her night down, to her blue robes. A mere second after doing this, Susan telatransported away, leaving the healer and the guards behind.

Lucia let out a sigh and asked aloud, "Why do I even bother telling her to rest? She never listens to me." The guards present chuckles at this, but were also worried. Susan looked like she was a woman on a mission, something that was never good, because Susan was very frightening when she got like that.

'Who or what ever has made her like that is in big trouble,' All the guards thought at the same time, feeling sorry for the fool who pissed the Queen off.

000

As Phobos fished draining the last of the Light of Meridian out of Will, he debated draining Will's original powers but decided against it. 'Why waste my time with inferior powers? Besides, now that I control the Light of Meridian, I can take them away from her whenever I please,' Phobos concluded and let Will's exhausted body drop to the ground, as the vines released her.

"What next Phobos?" Cornelia asked the prince, as she slowly hovered down towards the ground. The blonde kept a close eye on the collapsed redhead, not wanting to risk something happening now that they had defeated the 'traitors' of Meridian.

"We deal with the rest of my aunt and cousin's forces. Once that is done, we can deal with my aunt and then we can figure out the final plan," Phobos answered, which clearly confused Cornelia, so Phobos explained further.

"The power of Meridian is great, but is difficult to control by an experienced person. If I transfer all the power at once to my sister, she might not be able to fully control it. But If I hold onto it and wait for my sister to gain the necessary experience, it would only place more suspicion on me. We must make our next move carefully if we are to restore peace to this world," Phobos told Cornelia, secretly getting the Earth Guardian into the mindset he wanted.

If Phobos managed to convince his sister's best friend to support a supposed 'gradual' transfer of power. Then he would have all the power to himself when he launched his final attack to claim Meridian. That would virtually assure that he would succeed in the end.

"I guess you're right. Besides, I think Elyon is going to need time to get used to being Queen anyway," Cornelia agreed, not knowing she was falling right into Phobos' trap.

"I'm grateful for your support, Earth Guardian. But let's wait until we can discuss the matter with the others and see if we can figure a third…" Phobos started to say but then Susan appeared.

"You bastard!" Susan screamed in a rage and blasted Phobos with a lighting bolt. Phobos was knocked over by the blast, but it did not hurt as much as it should have, now that he now was equal to his aunt in power.

'For the moment anyway,' Phobos mused as he got back to his feet and gave Susan a confident smirk.

"It seems were are on par now, aunt Susan. But seeing how I am now the 'Heart' of Meridian, I think that means I hold the advantage," Phobos said with a triumphant tone of voice and started to focus on his aunt.

He was trying to cut off the flow of magic to the dark haired woman, but then quickly realized something was not right. "But…how?! How can I not strip you of your power!" Phobos exclaimed in a mixture of horror and anger.

Cornelia was equally scared, thinking maybe they had not gotten on all the power after all and that Susan was still too strong to face in a head to head battle.

"You may have the Light of Meridian's power in you now, Phobos. But not all its abilities. I still have the ability to control how the magic flows into other magic users of this world, meaning you have to defeat me to get the last of the Light," Susan told her nephew, then fired another lighting bolt at him.

Phobos blocked the attack this time an energy shield, but before he could counterattack, he heard the sound of a horn in the distance. Phobos turned to look what had happened and saw several legions of the Royal Army approaching the battlefield.

"It seems reinforcements have arrived. What will you do now, Phobos? Save your army or battle me and be defeated?" Susan asked Phobos in a cold tone. The dark haired woman wanted to finish this battle here and now, but knew she needed to tempt Phobos to retreat. If the fight continued, Will unconscious body might get caught in the crossfire, something Susan would not risk.

"We will have to finish this another time then, Aunt Susan. But rest assured, this is not over," Phobos said calmly, though secretly was fuming inside.

Deeply drawing on his newly gained power, Phobos telatransported the entire rebel army away, to a emergency fall back location the rebels had chosen if the Infinite City was uncovered. It was not good as the original base, but Phobos knew it would suffice until a new plan could be made.

After Phobos was gone, Susan contacted Raythor using a telepathic message to order the troops to regroup and await for new orders. She then scooped up her daughter took her to see Lucia, so as to make sure the redhead was alright.

000

Deep in the forests of Meridian, the rebels reappeared at the backup base, all looking very confused.

"Phobos!" the rebels heard Cornelia's voice call out in concern and all turned to look what had happened.

Phobos was on his hands and knees and was panting heavily. Even with the amount of power he now had, it was draining to move such a large force in such a way. 'The things I do to get what is rightfully mine!' The Prince growled in his mind, as Elyon rushed over to is side.

"Phobos, are you alight?!" Elyon exclaimed, but Phobos waved her off.

"I'll…be fine. I just…need…rest. After I…do so…we…have much…to discuss." Phobos panted out, while Cedric returned in human form and helped Phobos away from the rebels to go recover his strength.

'I may not have all the power yet, but it's a start. All I need to do now is think of a way to defeat my aunt and claim the last bit of magic and then, nothing will stand in my way!'

000

Hope you all like the latest update. Please let me know what you thought.


	19. Runaways and Reunions

AN: Here is the next chapter folks, just one more to go!

Would like to thank Knight for betaing this story and would also thank the following people for reviewing: Taeniaea, Philip Gipson, fergnerd, KnightofFaerun, yellow 14

Disclaimer: I don't own w.i.t.c.h.

000

Chapter 19: Runaways and Reunions

As the soldiers cleaned up the damage that occurred during the last battle, Susan was in the throne room asking to know how the battle had started.

Susan was shocked to find out it was Will who planned the attack, even if she did have help from a certain former rebel, who knew a bit more about large scale battle strategies than the redhead.

'Well, it was a good plan and was even a good idea considering Phobos planned to attack anyway, but I really wish Will had not done it. I never wanted her to have that kind of thing her on conscious, all those lives lost are hard on anyone, especially on a thirteen year old girl,' Susan thought, before speaking to those present.

"Though I wish the battle had not happened, I guess it was unavoidable. The only thing that worries me is that Phobos has stolen the Light of Meridian and makes him a force to be reckoned with. Fortunately, telatransporting the whole rebel army to safety will have drained him for some time; we will have time to plan our defense for future attacks at least," Susan told the people present, which consisted of Irma, Taranee, Caleb, Hay Lin, Kor and Raythor.

"Is Will alright though? From what you told us, Phobos seemed to hurt badly when he drained the power from her body," Taranee asked, the one person Susan had been surprised to see, but was glad the girl had realized the truth and had joined them.

"Don't worry, Taranee, Will is mostly exhausted. After some rest, she will be fine. I just hope she is not too upset at loosing the Light to Phobos. She tends to be hard on herself when things go wrong and I don't want her getting depressed because of what happened," The dark haired Queen explained to the Fire Guardian, who looked glad to hear this news.

"I think we can take care of that. The three of us can take Will on a shopping trip on Earth and she'll be having too much fun to even remember what happened. We'll just drag Caleb along so we have someone to carry the bags," Irma said as she put an arm around both Hay Lin and Taranee, while Caleb glared at her.

"I'm bodyguard and adviser, not a pack mule." Caleb stated firmly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ah come on Caleb! If you don't come, Will might strain herself by carrying all those heavy bags!" Hay Lin pleaded, while Taranee added, "If you're her bodyguard, then you have to ensure she does not hurt herself."

"My job…though I have not exactly done it so well so far, is to protect her from Phobos and his goons, not from piles of shoes and clothes she'll probably never wear!" Caleb shot back, making it clear he had drawn the line and was not going to cross it.

'It seems some things do not change, no matter what world you are on,' Susan mused, figuring out that like on Meridian, Boys plus Girls plus Shopping equals girl have fun, boys get stuck as labor.

"Just give in now Caleb. It's like quicksand, the more you struggle the more you get sucked in," Raythor said with a grin, which only made Caleb get the older warrior dragged into the topic as well.

"Why don't we use a Glamour on you and have you carry the bags?" Caleb growled at Raythor, which the girls seemed to be considering and made Raythor go pale.

"I'm the Queen's second in command! I don't have time to be lugging around clothing!" Raythor countered, while Susan laughed at the poor man's predicament.

000

While the humorous bickering continued in the throne room; Will was waking up much sooner than expected. This was because Meridian was feeding extra power into the weakened princess and restoring her strength at a rapid pace.

As she sat up, the memories of the battle flooded back into Will's mind, making her eyes fill with tears. "I let everyone down. What kind of princess am I?!" Will sobbed and dove out of bed.

The distraught redhead made for her dresser and gabbed a pair of black jeans, red sweater, black runner and pink jacket. It was her favorite Earth outfit and it made sense to wear it since that was where she was going.

'I pretty much destroyed Meridian by being here. It's best I leave and never come back. Once mom finds a way to beat Phobos, they will find a way to make Elyon see the truth and she will be ten times the princess I could ever be,' Will thought sadly as she changed and then stuffed her other Earth clothes into her backpack.

Once Will was ready to leave, she tried to open a portal, but nothing happened. 'What…What's wrong? Why didn't a portal open?' Will thought in horror, not knowing her powers had not yet recovered enough to open a portal.

Creating a connection between worlds was simple to perform for most members of the royal family, but with Will's mystic energy still a bit unstable from having Phobos' power siphoning, it was impossible for her to open a portal at the moment.

Of course, Will did not know that, so she panicked and started seeing if any of her other powers were working. She found out her telatransporting, lightning attack still worked (at very low levels), but her ability to Glamour, bring objects to life, levitate and energy beams were also out of commission.

"Did mom take away most of my powers? Or did Phobos steal them? If mom took them, how long have I been out? She was still in a deep sleep when the battle began, so it I must have been out for week!" Will whispered to her self, clearly not realizing it had only been a few hours and that Meridian had played a role in her fast recovery.

Quickly deciding to sneak away before someone found out she was awake, Will telatransported away, just moments before the door to her room swings open.

Lucia walked through with a bowl of broth, intended to be given to the sleeping princess, when the healer found her patient was missing. "Guards! Sandpit! The princess is gone!" Lucia calls out and two guards rush into the room, while the sand creature rushes off to alert Susan.

Soon the entire palace would be in a panic, trying to find the runaway princess before the rebels and Phobos found out she was missing.

000

It took several telatransports to make it into the city since Will's powers were so weak at the moment, and it had left Will breathing heavily. 'I'll…need to use my powers sparingly. It takes too much energy,' Will thought tiredly, while keeping an eye out for Blunk.

She needed a portal and since she could not open one herself and no longer had the Heart and map to find one for her, Will needed a Passling to sniff one out for her. The only problem was staying out of sight, so none of the citizens realized who she was.

After two hours of hiding among the shadows of the alleys of the shops and houses; Will found who she was looking for. Blunk just happened to be walking by the alley Will was hiding in and she grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him into the shadows with her.

"Please don't hurt Blunk!" The Passling pleaded, but stopped when he saw Will's face.

"Oh good, just Guardian Princess, what can Blunk do for Guardian Princess?" Blunk asked, making Will wince at the nickname the Passling called her, but shrugged it off and said, "I need a portal, Blunk. I also need you to NOT tell anyone where I have gone. I need…time away to think about certain things."

In a rare moment of deep insight, the Passling nodded his head and signals Will to follow him. He leads Will out of the city and towards the forests, knowing a portal was hidden deep within it.

000

Back at the palace, Susan was trying in vain to find Will by using the viewing pool. But to her dismay the pool failed Susan every time.

"Her magic aura is so unstable right now; it's blocking any form of scrying. Even when I had the Light of Meridian, I would have not have had the power to locate her at this point and time." Susan said to those present, clearly trying to keep herself calm and focused during this crisis, but not doing so well.

"Then we do it the old fashion way. Kor, get that nose of yours warmed up, we got a princess to track down." Caleb told the still transformed familiar and quickly did the same.

Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin transformed as well and headed out of the palace. Susan wanted to go with them, but needed to remain behind to help organize the search parties with Raythor.

'Please find her, you four. I lost her once, I could not bear to loose her a second time,' Susan thought as she watched the group leave to locate Will.

000

"So my cousin has run away, has she? Send out a few extra patrols, she might be heading for one of those portals we have found in the surrounding area." Phobos ordered Frost, when he reported to Phobos on what he had heard.

"At once my prince…if one of us were to find her and the rebels were not around…" Frost started to ask, but Phobos knew what was coming and answered.

"If you can think of a way to make it look like an accident so I don't loose Mathew Olsen's allegiance, kill her. Otherwise it's best you just kidnap her and drag her back here so I can carry out my end of the bargain with our black-winged friend.' Phobos instructed, getting an evil grin from Frost.

"I think I can do that, now I just have to find her before the rebels or the boy does and I'll remove that little pest for you, my prince," Frost responded and headed out to hunt the redheaded princess down.

'If my luck holds, Frost will deal with the brat and I'll still have my most powerful Knight of Destruction at my command. I'm certain she was the one who planned the attack on the Infinite City and how all those legions just 'happened' to have returned in time to help with the battle, so I owe my current state of weakness to her. I'll make Wilhelmina pay if I get the chance,' Phobos thought bitterly to himself and hoped Frost succeeded in his mission.

000

"Not further! Come! Come!" Blunk called back as he led Will to the portal deep in the woods. The portal was just visible in the distance, but still more than a ways off, but if the Passling and the runaway were to keep their pace, they would reach it in ten minutes.

Unless a rebel patrol crossed their path. There where only four of them and if Will's powers were up to their usual level, they would not be a threat. But this was not the case and to make things worse, they recognized Will, even though she was wearing Earth clothing.

"It's the traitor! Grab her!" One of the rebels ordered and they started charging towards Will. With their charge cutting Will and Blunk off from the portal, the pair was forced to run away in the opposite direction.

"Blunk, hold on!" Will called out as she grabbed the Passling's hand and tried to telatransport them a safe distance away, but only got her twenty-five feet away. It also drained much of Will's remaining strength and made the redhead collapse to her knees.

"Blunk...you got to...run. Save yourself!" Will told the Passling, but he refused to leave her.

"No! No leave Guardian Princess! Must run with Blunk!" Blunk stated firmly and grabbed Will's arm. The small green creature tried to pull Will along with him, but lacked the strength move his much larger companion.

The four rebels quickly caught up with Will and Blunk and were roughly grabbed by the four men. "Alright traitor, you're coming with us! I bet your cousins will want a word with you for your crimes," One of the rebels said as they bound Will's hands tight and tried to drag her to her feet.

But Will was still feeling too weak to stand and fell down hard, much to the rebels' annoyance. "Get up you worthless little piece of scum!" Another rebel growled out as he kicked Will for falling down. When Will did respond instantly then more kicks followed as a way to 'encourage' Will to comply.

While the other rebels watched their comrade pummel Will, Blunk pleaded with them to stop, the Passling's words fell on deaf ears. Or they did until a cold voice spoke out, "The only scum I see are the ones who beat a defenseless child."

The rebel who was kicking Will, stop and look around for the source of the voice, as did his patrol mates. "Who said that?! Show yourself!"

"Trust me; you don't want to see me. If you do, a very painful experience will follow," The voice stated, while the rebels tried in vain to find the person who was threatening them.

"You dare threaten those who seek to punish those who are trying to destroy Meridian?!" One of the rebels roared out, which all things considered, was a big mistake.

From out of nowhere, a cloaked figure punched the rebel who had just spoken and sent him flying into the trunk of a tree. The other three rebels quickly tried to attack this new adversary, but the newcomer had quickly drawn two large daggers and blocked two of the rebel's blades and kicked the third rebel in the gut.

The kick knocked the wind out of the rebel and took him out of the fight for the moment, while the newcomer dealt with the other two. "If I were you, I would just run away now and save yourselves a world of pain," The newcomer stated simply, before pushing the two other rebels away with incredible force.

"We don't give into threats from scum like you!" One of the two remaining rebels growled out while other tried to attack the newcomer again. But the new warrior just jumped in the air and landed behind his attacker.

"Do not say I did not warn you," Was all the mysterious warrior said before finally going on the offensive. He charged the one who last attacked him, both daggers held at the ready.

But when the rebel moved to block the daggers, he got kneed on the stomach. When the rebel bent down and clutches his stomach in pain, the warrior jumped into the air again and as he drops down, slams his heel into the back of the rebel's head.

The blow knocked the man out and left only a single rebel to combat a warrior who had defeated three of his comrades with ease. The last rebel was so terrified, he tried to run away, but collided head on with the one whom had the wind knocked out him.

This simple and very embarrassing act, knocked both rebels out and ended the fight in the warrior's favor.

"That was easy," The warrior commented, before going over to Will's side. She was passed out and was looking very red, so the warrior quickly placed his hand on Will's forehead and found out Will had a terrible fever.

'She did not look sick a moment ago. What happened to this one?' The warrior wondered in concern, not knowing that Will had brought this sudden fever on herself. By using her magic when it was unstable and weak, it caused her to become ill.

But since magic users on Meridian were in small number and this warrior was clearly not among them, he thought it might be something else, so he decided to bring the redhead home with him.

As the warrior hoisted Will onto his back, Blunk cried out, "Where you taking…Blunk's friend!" The Passling made sure not use his nickname for Will, just in case the warrior did not realize Will's identity.

"Home," Was the warrior's only reply and he started running off deep into the forest.

Blunk tried to fellow by tracking the warrior's scent, but that only got Blunk so far, until even that trails came to an end. This worried the Passling, since very few people on Meridian knew how to avoid being tracked by a Passling while on the move.

"Blunk must go tell Queen…but Blunk promised to not tell where Guardian Princess went. What Blunk do?!" Blunk cried out and started slamming his head against a tree.

"Stupid Blunk think! Think!" The Passling kept crying out, trying to get his mind to make a decision, when he smelled something familiar approaching.

"Oh no!" The Passling squeaked out in fear and started to run. Too bad for him, the thing he was running from was a lot faster and pounced on the helpless Passling.

"Please don't eat Blunk!" Blunk screamed as he was lifted off the ground by the back of the shirt and was now staring into the face of Kor. Close behind the Weremouse, were Caleb, Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin.

"Where. Is. Will?" Caleb demanded in such a cold tone of voice, it had Blunk shaking like a leaf.

"What will? Blunk not in business of making wills, too depressing to talk about death," The Passling replied nervously, clearly trying to play dumb, but not fooling Caleb, Kor or the girls.

"Don't try to act smart you smelly pile of dung! Tell us where Will is!" Irma growled at the Passling, which somehow snapped Blunk out of his trembling and bring on a level of surprising bravado.

"Flattery get you nowhere. Blunk have customer privacy policy. All deals completely confidential," Blunk stated in a matter of fact manner. This did not impress the five very annoyed magic users, but Caleb had an idea on how to make Blunk talk.

"Hay Lin, there is a village in that direction. Go there and get as much soap and scrubbing brushes as possible, and meet us at the lake over in that direction," Caleb ordered, making all those present (except for Blunk) smirk evilly.

Blunk just gulped loudly, knowing full well what Caleb was going to say next, but praying he was wrong.

As Hay Lin took off towards the village at full flight speed, Caleb turned to Blunk and asked with an evil grin, "How do you like your bath?"

This filled Blunk with feeling of pure terror few ever experience in their whole lives and screamed out so loud the who forest could hear the, "NOOOOOO!"

000

A few hours later, in a more swampy part of the forest, Will was waking up to the sound of a crackling fire.

Will slowly opened her eyes to see she was in a warm bed and was covered in a thick fur blanket. A few feet of to the side was fireplace, with a tall and well-built man standing in front of it.

He had short reddish brown hair and green eyes, from what Will could make out from where she a lying and was starting to get scared. Will tried to sit up, but was still very weak from her 'illness' and sore from her beating, so she fell back into the pillow.

The motion of Will's attempt to get up drew the man's attention and he headed over to Will's side. The redhead started to shake with fear, but the man quickly put a stop to this.

"It's alright child, I won't hurt you. I found you being attacked by those men and brought you here so you could rest. That fever of yours worries me though, I have never encountered anything like it before," The man told Will, as he dipped a cloth into a bucket of water, before placing it on Will's forehead.

Will felt strangely calm around this man, who at once began explaining what had happened. She was a bit surprised this man had saved her, but he did not seem like he was going to harm her in any way.

"Thank you for helping me…but…why?" Will asked, not wanting to sound ungrateful but was still feeling a bit paranoid. Some people sometimes had other motives than just helping people in need and Will did not want to risk lowering her guard, just in case.

The man just smiled at Will and said in a reassuring tone, "I assure you, young lady, I only wish to help. Though I do under stand your concern, with the rebels as your enemies, I'm not surprised that you're a little suspicious."

After saying that, the man headed over to the fireplace and tended to a pot of some kind of soup. Will watched the man then pour some of it into a bowl and bring both it and a chair over to Will's bedside.

Dipping a spoon into the bowl and then blowing it a few times, the man held it out to Will's mouth and say, "Open wide…mind the taste though, it's bitter but usual helps with fevers."

Hearing this, will braced herself and took the first mouth full. The redhead quickly gulped it down and got an expression that clearly showed it was NOT the best thing she ever tasted.

After taking a few seconds to recover from the taste, Will exclaimed, "It's got to work if it tastes that bad!" This caused the man to burst out laughing, before offering Will another spoonful of the horrible soup.

000

Meanwhile, Frost, Tracker, Sniffer (Tracker's hound) and Cedric in his snake form were trying to hunt down Will by following the report from the four badly beaten rebels.

"If this ends up being a wild goose chase, I get first dibs on pummeling those four babbling idiots," Frost grumbled, not believing anyone would have been as fast or as strong as the warriors the four rebel described.

"Quit complaining and live up to your nickname of 'The Hunter' for once!" Cedric growled out as he followed the two trackers and the hound.

"Hey, the zombie right next to me is supposed to be Phobos' best tracker! If he can't find her, then how can I?!" Frost shouted back at Cedric, despite knowing Cedric was far more powerful than he was.

Cedric was about to tear Frost limb from limb, when he saw Tracker gesture the group to stop. They did so and watched one of the best trackers in all of Meridian locate the supposed to be invisible signs that the warrior had used to hide his trial.

Tracker knew only one kind of creature could have hidden his trial so well and for a moment, even the great Tracker could not believe it. The dead creature then started to move again at a steady jog, which Sniffer, Cedric and Frost matched, knowing full well Tracker only got like this when one thing happened.

'He found worthy prey.' Both villains thought at the same moment. Tracker rarely thought of most of his marks as worthy, so when he found something that got his interest, then it was going to be a good fight when they found their target.

'Whatever Tracker has found must be strong, but what could it be? Certainly not the princess, Tracker does not get excited over a magic user, only those who are physically fast and strong opponents, who are also highly skilled. Who is this Warrior?' Cedric wondered as he kept close to Tracker.

000

Meanwhile at the lake, Caleb and the others brought Blunk to where they continued his 'interrogation'. It had gotten a bit more violent than the former rebel had intended, because Irma got fed up and was using two hands made of water to squeeze the Passling like he was a tube of toothpaste.

"Where is she Blunk?! Tell me now! Or I'll keep squeezing you until your eyes pop out of your head!" Irma demanded in a furry, the Passling's eyes actually looking like they would pop out any minute now.

The others were caught between wanting trying to stop the Water Guardian or getting her to calm down. They had rinsed, lathered, soaked and scrubbed the poor green creature to the point where he actually did not stink in even the slightest, yet would not say word, which was what pushed Irma over the edge.

"Blunk might…remember…if Blunk could…breath!" The Passling managed to gasp out and made Irma drop the small green creature like a sack of potatoes.

"You better remember or it's the ice sculpture method next!" Hay Lin warned, while Taranee added, "Then the defrost and BBQ method!"

The Passling was starting to look pale at hearing this when Caleb threw in the final. "Then you get buried up to your neck and we will smother your head in honey before throwing Meridian Fire Ants on you! Then what's left gets fed to Kor!"

The powerful familiar let out a snarl in Blunk's direction to signal its agreement to the last part, which broke the last of Blunk's will to keep his mouth shut. "Shadow-Man took Guardian Princess after he saved her from rebels! Blunk try to follow but Shadow-Man hid scent somehow!" Blunk called out in a whining tone, hoping the torture would end now.

The others looked at each other, as if deciding if they believed Blunk or not. "Where did you last see this 'Shadow-Man'?" Caleb asked, his tone making it clear to Blunk that he better not be lying.

"Where you found Blunk. Shadow-Man was too fast for Blunk to keep up with, so Blunk lost sight very quickly.' Blunk answered, just before he was picked and thrown over to Kor.

"Then you'll stick with us until we find her. If we are lucky, you'll pick up this 'Shadow-Man's' scent again during the search." Caleb said and gestured the group to start moving, they now had a lead and at least a direction to try and follow. It was their only chance of finding Will, before some else with darker intentions did.

000

Too bad for them, those with dark intentions did make it there before they did. Just outside the warrior's small hut in the swampy part of the woods, Tracker, Sniffer, Frost and Cedric arrived.

"So this is where the princess and her savior are hiding? Let's just rush in and take them, there is no way this unknown warrior can be that tough," Frost said and started to head for the hut, when Cedric stopped him.

"Let's not leave anything to chance. You two attack the hut, but first give me time to get to the back. When this warrior and the princess come out to fight you, I'll strike and take the brat down. Then we can take care of the warrior together if he does happen to pose a challenge and we will win in one swell swoop," Cedric told Frost, who reluctantly agreed.

Phobos wanted the redhead dead, so putting a little extra planning into the battle plan will ensure they get praised instead of punished. Phobos now had almost all the power he craved, so he could probably perform some rather painful punishments if they failed.

Once Cedric was in position, the two other warriors moved in to attack the hut, but were surprised to see the warrior had already exited to face them before they could even do anything to make themselves known.

"Don't be so surprised, far worse things live in this place than you three and I can detect them just as easily as I detect you. Leave this place, before I make you," The man stated firmly as he and prepared to draw his dagger for battle.

Cedric shook in fear from his hiding place when caught sight of the man. He knew this man and thought he had been dealt with long ago. 'I'll finish him myself this time!' The snake man roared in his mind and dove into battle.

"I don't know how you survived, but I'll make sure you die this time!" Cedric roared as he swung his massive tail to crush the warrior before him.

But to Cedric's fear and anger, the man dives out of the way in time and looks back at Cedric in shock and confusion. 'He knows who I am? I finally find someone who knows me and it is apparently an enemy of mine, that is just great!' The warrior thought to himself as he made plans on how to deal with the shapeshifter before him.

"What's…going on?" The warrior heard the young voice of the girl he rescued ask and stepped in front of the doorway.

000

Will was shocked and scared to see Cedric, Frost and Tracker here in the middle of nowhere and at a time where she was virtually defenseless. 'I have to help the man who saved me, but…I'm still feeling weak and it seems the more I use my magic, the worse I feel.' Will thought in her mind, knowing she would barely stun one of the present warriors in her current condition.

"Get back!" The warrior called out to Will, not wanting the redhead to be near the battle while she was weak. Cedric on the other hand, was more then pleased to have Will present, it made her easier to kill after all.

"I'll deal with you first!" Cedric roared and dove at Will, intent on tearing the ill redhead apart with his bare hands. Too bad for Cedric, the warrior was going pull out all the stops to prevent that gruesome fate.

The warrior's body crackled with energy, just like when Cedric's did when he changed shape and dove at Cedric. Will was shocked to see a large tiger like humanoid move in front of her and stop Cedric in his tracks.

What shocked Will even more, was that this tiger warrior flung Cedric judo style over his should and sent the giant snake man flying ten feet away from them. Considering the size of Cedric's body in his snake form, that was no small feat.

"Try to attack the girl again and you'll feel the sharpness of my teeth next time!" The tiger warrior growled at Cedric, who was now starting to get up. Both Frost and Tracker took this chance to attack.

Tracker twirled his ball and chain overhead a few times to gather momentum, while Frost charged forward, his ax held ready to strike. When Frost was halfway to his target, Tracker flung the ball on the end of the chain at the tiger warrior, in hopes of landing a hit and giving Frost an opening to attack as well.

The tiger warrior saw it coming though and actually caught the ball with one of his claw like hands! To make matters worse for the two villains, the tiger warrior threw the ball at Frost and beamed him in the head.

After looking very dazed and wobbly for a few moments, Frost fell onto his back, completely unconscious. Tracker was unsure of what to do, but Sniffer being a simple undead hound, dove at the tiger warrior.

But the dog-like creature was swatted aside by the powerful tiger and was taken care of as quickly as Frost had been, effectively cutting the opposition to half its original strength. But Cedric was not going to let that stop him, so for a second time, he swung his massive tail at the tiger warrior.

The tiger warrior quickly grabbed Will and dove safely out of the tail's path, but it left him open to an attack from Tracker. The undead warrior flung his ball and chain at the tiger warrior, scoring a direct hit on the side of tiger warrior's head.

The tiger warrior being dazed was unable to land properly, so when he hit the ground, he rolled several feet. He kept his grip on Will though and held her protectively against his chest.

"Are you alright?" Will asked with a great deal of concern in her voice, worried for her protector's well being after that last blow. He did not respond though, because he was too busy trying deal with the images flashing in his mind.

The man had amnesia for many years and these images were fragmented memories of his past, which had been brought on by Tracker hitting him in the head. He could not fight because his mind was trying to make sense of all this information, leaving both him and Will vulnerable to the advancing Cedric and Tracker.

Will knew she needed to buy time for the tiger warrior to recover and tried to draw on her magic once again, despite knowing it would only make her feel worse. 'I don't have a choice. If I don't do something, Cedric and Tracker will kill us both so I have to attack,' Will concluded in her mind and raised her hands up to fire an attack.

"Quintessence!" Will screamed out and fired a blast of lightning at the two enemies. The lightning had no effect on Cedric and Tracker in Will's weak condition and only made her pass out once again.

But while Will's final attack failed to slow the two enemies down, it seemed to somehow snap the tiger warrior out his confused daze. "I know that word…it's so…" The tiger warrior whispered then let out furious roar. His memories were still fizzy, but few were quite clear, one of which on who Cedric was and why they were enemies.

The tiger warrior looked at Cedric and said a deadly growl, "Cedric, if I were you, I would start running because this time…Phobos is not here to save you!" With that, the tiger warrior dove back into battle swatting aside Tracker like he was nothing and the started grappling with Cedric.

Cedric had wrapped his coils around the tiger warrior and had his hand barely holding off the tiger warrior's claws, but the tiger warrior had sunk his teeth into Cedric's shoulder and was starting to gnaw away at the snake-man's flesh.

Both Tracker and Frost were finally recovering though and both started to advance on Will's prone form. They intended to use the girl as a hostage to make the tiger warrior surrender but they had not expected the Calvary to arrive at that very moment.

"Air!"

"Water!"

"Fire!"

The voices of Hay Lin, Irma and Taranee called out, the first two elements knocking the two enemies away from Will, then were surrounded in a ring of fire to keep them contained.

Both shape shifters stopped battling one another to look up and see the three girls and Caleb hovering about them and then saw Kor leap into the clearing, with Bunk still in his grasp.

"Well…looks like we arrived just in time. I don't who the tiger shapeshifter is, but if he is your enemy Cedric, then he is an ally of ours. You'd better release him before we make you," Caleb ordered Cedric, who knew to obey since he was now outnumbered and outmatched.

The tiger warrior released his bite as well, then jumped back to land next to Will. He stood in a defensive position to protect Will's form against any further attacks, as did Kor. Both the shapeshifter and familiar seemed at ease with each other, most likely because they had the same idea: protect Will at all costs.

Cedric knew this was a good time to leave, the 'Guardians of Meridian', Will's familiar and the tiger warrior were too much for he and comrades to deal with on their own. "Frost! Tracker! Retreat!" Cedric ordered and made a run for the woods.

The other two evil warriors did so as well, diving through the flames and quickly following after Cedric. Sniffer, who had finally recovered as well, followed his master, not wanting to be left alone with warriors of the Queen.

"Shouldn't we go after them?" Taranee asked as she watched their enemies flee.

Caleb shook his head no before gesturing to Will and said, "No we need to get Will back to the palace. Queen Susan will want her back as soon as…hey! Where are you taking her?!" Caleb had stopped his explanation when he saw the tiger shapeshifter carrying Will towards the hut.

"To get her ready for the trip." Was all the shap shifter said and grabbed Will backpack and material to make a stretcher. After finishing this, the shapeshifter changed to his human form and put on his cloak, keeping the hood up so to hide his face.

'Don't want to spoil the surprise after all.' The shapeshifter thought ashe started dragging the stretcher behind him. Kor helped in this and the four flyers followed along as they made the long journey back to the palace.

000

The group did not arrive back until late evening, but with the castle on high alert, were quickly instructed to take Will to the throne room, where Susan was waiting.

Upon entering the throne room, Susan telatransported to her daughter's side and checked to see what was wrong. The Queen quickly found out the cause of her daughter's 'illness' and began treating it.

"The good news is that fever should settle down in a few days. The bad news is…I'm going need to keep an eye on her until she wakes up because I won't risk her running away again. Raythor, I'll need you to…" Susan started to say but her second in command signaled he already knew her request.

"I'll will ensure the kingdom remains stable while you tend to the princess, your highness," The Queen's second in command responded and got a look of relief from his Queen.

"Thank you Raythor. Now as for you, I…" Susan started to say when she looked at the shape hifter who had protected her daughter, but suddenly found her elf caught in a kiss from said man!

"How dare you!" Raythor growled out as he drew his sword and marched towards the man, but was stopped when the man broke away from Susan and removed the hood of his cloak.

Raythor stopped right in his tracks and actually dropped his word at the sight of the man. Raythor could not find his voice as he stared at the other warrior in shock, Susan was able find hers though.

"Jaden…is it…really you?" Susan asked in a whisper, while tears poured down her face. The man just looked back at Susan and replied, "Would another kiss answer your question?"

This caused Susan to bury her face into Jaden's chest and cry tears of joy, she had not only gotten her daughter back this night, but her husband as well. After a few minutes Susan broke away and asked, "But where have you been? It's been over thirteen years since we thought you were dead."

"I'll explain later Susan, right now we need to tend to her...our daughter." Jaden told his wife and then moved over to scoop Will up in his arms. As both husband and wife left the room, Caleb thought nervously, 'When he finds out I'm his daughter's boyfriend, I'm tiger food.'

Just as Caleb thought that though, Vathek approached the former rebel and said, "You might want to come with me. The princess is not the only one with a family reunion happening today."

Caleb was confused by Vathek words for a moment, but then realized what the big blue warrior meant. The two warriors left, leaving a certain trio of girls asking one question, "With Susan busy with Will…how do we get home!"

000

A few minutes later in the dungeons, Julian was counting the number of stone bricks in the ceiling for the thousandth time, when Caleb walked up.

"I was wondering when you would come to visit," Julian said casually as he stared at the wall, something that surprised Caleb. He had been expecting his father to be screaming "traitor" or something, not acting like they were sitting down to have a father-son chat.

"You seem awfully calm to see me dad, after what I have done," Caleb said calmly.

Julian looked at his son and replied, "What do I have to be upset about? I was the one to suggest you visit the princess, which led you to joining the Queen after…what ever she really did to you."

This shocked Caleb for a second time and he quickly asked, "You mean you don't think I'm being controlled?"

Julian gave his son a look that clearly said 'Are you kidding me?' and replied, "I know my own son well enough to know he is acting on his own accord. Besides, the Queen was under the spell of the Horn of Hypnos, yet you fought against her instead of alongside her."

There was a moment of silence before Julian continued. "Plus there is the fact that Phobos' new warriors concern me. Where did they come from and why have they only just now joined the war? Beings as powerful as they would have chosen a side long ago, not wait until the war is almost over," Julian explained, making it clear he was have strong doubts about Phobos, but had yet to make a solid decision on whom he fully believed at the moment.

Caleb was glad to hear this, now knowing his father was probably just sitting quietly in his cell and staying out of the war until he did make his choice. But one thing concerned Caleb about his father's and he asked, "What makes you think the war is almost over?"

"The sides have been fighting for too long, with no clear winner in sight. Both sides want the war over before their strength is gone, so the next large scale battle, will most likely be the last."

000

A few hours later, Will woke up to find she was in another warm bed, but this time felt something on either side of her. "It looks like she is finally waking up," Will heard the voice of the man who had saved,her which made Will snap her eyes open.

She looked to see he was laying on one side of her and her mother was laying on the other. She was scared to see the man was in bed with both her and her mother, but Susan spoke up before Will could start panicking.

"It's good to see you up, sweetie. I know this may seem strange but…" Susan started to say, but Will cut her off.

"Understatement of the year, mom! There is a naked man in the same bad us and you just call it strange!" Will squeaked out, while staring at the man's bare chest.

"I'm not naked, I'm wearing pants still!" Jaden said in his defense and hoped it would clam Will down. It did not succeed unfortunately.

"I'm so sorry, let me correct myself. Mind telling me why we have a half naked man in the same bed as us, mom?" Will demanded to her mother, while Jaden chuckled and said, "At least our daughter knows her priorities, Susan."

Hearing this, Will had to look back at Jaden then back at her mother, clearly too confused to say anything. This made Susan give Will a sad smile and say, "It seems, sweetheart, your father has not been dead all these years, but…" Susan said and started to retell the story Jaden and had told her while Will was sleeping.

000

Flash Back:

Jaden had taken a young Phobos out for a hunt so as to get the boy away from the palace for a while. Both he and Susan had noticed that over the years, the young man had grown angry because of constantly being told his hard work was pointless.

The young prince wanted to prove himself, but Weira was a stickler for tradition and refused to even give the young prince's ideas a chance. Phobos had been trying to convince Weira and Zaden to try a more equal style of treatment for who assumes the throne, but all his attempts had been ignored.

The constant rejections were making Phobos bitter and both his aunt and uncle saw something bad happening if they did not try to help him. So Jaden thought a little uncle and nephew time would help the boy get some of his worries off his chest, which got them where they arenow, on the edge of a waterfall overlooking a beautiful lake and forest.

"Are we done yet? I'm not like you, uncle; I'm not an outdoorsman, so this trip seems rather pointless," Phobos stated as they stopped for a rest.

"Oh come now, Phobos! You are out of the palace for once, away from all those problems, you should be enjoying this!" Jaden told his nephew with a big grin on his face. The powerful shapeshifter wanted to help his nephew in any way he could, seeing as how the boy's parents were not going to be able to until the three found a happy medium.

Phobos just gave his uncle an annoyed scowl before saying, "And then go back and find those problems waiting for me once again? The only way I'll solve my problem is by making things happen, but my parents will never allow it."

Jaden gave his nephew a sad smile before sitting down on a log and gesturing for Phobos to sit beside him. The prince grumpily did so and waited for his uncle to speak.

"Phobos, perhaps you're going out about your goals the wrong way. Perhaps you should lose the first half of the war, so that you can win in the end," Jaden suggested, which drew Phobos' curiosity.

"What do you mean uncle?" Phobos asked, so he could understand his uncle's words.

"It's very simple, Phobos. Instead of getting your parents to change Meridian's way, get your future sister to do it for you. As she grows up, she and you can bond and work together to change tradition, like how your mother and aunt did to allow your aunt and I to marry," Jaden explained to Phobos, in hopes of helping the boy achieve his goals and stop the arguments between Phobos and his parents.

Phobos scoffed as he replied, "Your kind have married into the royal a few times before, no changes were made by my mother or Aunt Susan. All you three did was wait until my mother was on the throne and my grandmother no longer had the authority to interfere."

Jaden shook his and gave his nephew a small smile, before saying, "Okay, I'll concede that point. But in a way, you grandmother did make it law that your aunt could marry me, thus your mother Weira did change things when she assumed the throne. The point is, give up on trying to have the throne so that either your future sister's sons or your own sons can have an equal right to it. In the end, you win in the long run."

Phobos said nothing in response and just stood up and looked out towards the horizon. After a few moments, Phobos finally speaks. "But what if there was a way for me to win the war entirely? Wouldn't that be a better choice than only getting half of what I want?"

It was not Phobos' words that worried Jaden, but the way he said them. They had a hidden dark message, one that the tiger shapeshifter knew he must find out what it was. For both the boy's sake and Meridian's safety.

"What do you mean, Phobos? I'm pretty sure you'll never convince you mother…" Jaden started to say, but then heard something behind him come slithering up.

Jaden leapt out of the way just in time to avoid a massive tail slamming down on him. The warrior quickly changed into his tiger warrior shape and saw the massive from of a snake shapeshifter before him.

"Uncle Jaden, allow me introduce you to a new friend of mine. His name is Cedric, one who would like to see some changes in the near future concerning the royal family. Mainly, the idea of females never assuming the throne again!" Phobos said with a dark grin on his face, which made Jaden fear both he and Susan had acted too late to help their nephew.

"Don't do this, Phobos. The path you are starting to follow will only bring much suffering for everyone," Jaden said in a warning tone, hoping to reason with the young man and avoid a very bad outcome for all Meridian.

"It will only cause suffering if the people resist change, uncle Jaden. Now you have two choices, join me or be destroyed!" Phobos told his uncle, while Cedric kept the tiger warrior cornered.

"I would choose the winning side, Jaden. You skills as a warrior in either of your forms are legendary, but they will not save you if you choose to oppose us!" Cedric hissed at Jaden, clearly confident he was powerful enough to defeat the tiger warrior before him.

"A little over confident aren't we? I have fought against some of the greatest warriors of our kind and won! What makes you think you are greater than any of them at your young age?" Jaden asked, hoping to goad the snake man into making a mistake in the coming battle.

"Perhaps a demonstration is in order then." Cedric replied a little too calmly to Jaden's liking, but that did not weaken the tiger warrior's resolve to win this battle.

Cedric swung his massive tale at Jaden once again, but he sidestepped the blow and dove toward his opponent with claws ready to strike. The attack was countered by Cedric when the snake creature grabbed Jaden and flung him towards a near by tree.

Jaden recovered in mid air though and instead of slamming into the tree trunk, he used his strong legs to launch himself off it and back at Cedric.

The tiger warrior flew back at the snake creature with such force, Cedric was not only knocked over, but both skidded dangerously close to the edge of the nearby cliff.

"I would just surrender now if I were you, Cedric. You can't beat me!" Jaden growled as he tried to scratch Cedric's face with his claws, but Cedric was making sure to keep them away by grabbing Jaden's wrists once again.

"He might not be able to win against you, uncle, but you're forgetting you have two opponents!" Jaden heard Phobos' voice exclaim, just before he felt a painful burning sensation in the back, not realizing Phobos had used some of his life force to fire an energy blast at him.

While Jaden let out a roar of pain, Cedric threw the tiger warrior off him and over the edge of the cliff, into the raging river below.

End of Flash Back

000

"I must have hit my head during the fall or as I was swept down stream and lost my memory. It took the that thing your mother told was called Tracker to bring my memory back, when he hit me with his weapon. The blow restored my memories and now I'm back to help end this war," Jaden said to Will, after Susan finished telling the story to Will.

As Will heard all this, it made her wonder if Phobos had been somewhat justified in his motives. His methods were wrong of course, but perhaps this entire war could have been avoided if some have had just compromised or at least given Phobos' ideas a chance thirteen years ago.

"But if what you're saying is true, who is really responsible for this war? Phobos for attacking and killing his parents? His parents for not listening or giving him a chance? Or us not trying to reason with him more? It seems so many things could have been done to stop this from ever happening," Will asked and got sad looks from her parents.

"No one can really be certain Will. Like you said, too many things could have been different, but we will never know for certain what may have been," Will's father answered; while Susan pulled her daughter close to comfort her.

"Don't worry about things you could not have stopped Will. You were not even born yet when these problems occurred. The main problem we should focusing on right now is you, not Phobos," Susan told Will, who was turning her head to face the dark-haired woman.

"What do you mean mom?" Will asked, wondering if her mom was talking about how she lost the Light to Phobos. The redhead could not have been more wrong.

"I want to know if I can trust you not to run away again, Will. I was worried sick after I heard you were not in your room. We are lucky your father found and protected you until Caleb and the girls came to help in the battle. I almost lost you for good!" Susan told her daughter with tears starting to form in her eyes.

Will looked away and said, "But I lost the Light to Phobos. I'll only keep messing up if I stay," Will's only response was getting a tighter hug from her mother, who was starting to let her tears flow.

After a few minutes of silence, Jaden spoke up. "I don't really believe you would keep 'messing up' by just being here. As I see it, it was mostly just a case of the wrong thing happening at the wrong moment and there was nothing you could do to stop it," The powerful warrior told his daughter and attracted the two women's attention.

"Besides, if you are at fault somehow, which will help you correct it? Staying on Meridian and continuing the fight or running away to the world called Earth?" Jaden continued, hoping to reason with the redhead and settle his wife's fears at the same time.

Will was a bit surprised by the wisdom of her father's words, while Susan gave the man a grateful smile. The dark-haired woman knew her husband had probably just given Will an anchor to keep her on Meridian until the two could convince the redhead had done nothing wrong and did not need to go into self-imposed exile.

But that could be done later, now was a time for rest since the final battle was fast approaching and they would need to be at full strength to face it.

000

Meanwhile, back at the rebel camp, Cedric was reporting on what happened and Phobos was not happy to hear it.

"All these years he has been alive and we did not even know it!" Phobos growled out, knowing his uncle's return could greatly complicate matters. Jaden was a respected warrior before the civil war began and could easily turn people to his aunt's side giving enough time. The final battle would need to be launched very soon or all would be lost.

'But first, a little extra firepower is needed if we are to combat my uncle during the battle,' Phobos thought as he stood up and walked out of his tent.

"My prince, is it wise for you to be up so soon?" Cedric cautioned, but was ignored while Phobos kept walking.

The evil prince had more than recovered enough to do what he had planned. To resurrect Orgoth an ancient warrior, who once almost brought Meridian to its knees one thousand years ago.

000

AN: And there you go. Please let me know what you thought.


	20. Final Battle: The True Evil Revealed

AN: Here is the last chapter folks, it been a blast but all stories must come to an end.

Would like to thank Knight once again for betating and the following reviewers: Taeniaea, Philip Gipson, yellow 14, KnightofFaerun.

000

Chapter 20: The Final Battle: The True Evil Revealed

Phobos stood in the ruins where his Lurden army was hidden, preparing for the ritual that would call fourth Orgoth. With some clever wording and preying on the rebellion's dire need to end the war in one last battle, it was an easy task to get the rebel leaders and Elyon to vote in favor of not only accepting Phobos' plan, but also letting him act as Regent until Elyon was older, thus allowing him to keep the Light of Meridian.

Phobos had no intention of giving up the power of course. His plans were to take Meridian's throne the second he had crushed his aunt and her forces.

As Phobos completed his spell, a circle with a five-pointed star in the center appeared before him. Slowly, a seven-foot, armor-clad juggernaut of pure power stood before the evil prince.

What most legends did not say about Orgoth was that he was a golem and not an actual person. A different branch of the cult, which created the tablets Phobos used to create the Knights of Destruction, had created it. But this branch lacked the power to maintain their creation and it ended up draining their life force away to nothing while trying to kill the Queen of that time period.

But Phobos had the Light of Meridian now, thus had no such problem. Phobos could call fourth Orgoth and use this powerful warrior to crush all those in his path. "Soon my dear relatives, you'll be crushed like the bugs that you are!"

000

Meanwhile, Will and her parents were having breakfast in the dining hall, along with Caleb and the girls. Jaden was kind and courteous to Irma, Hay Lin and Taranee, but like all good fathers, was trying to give Caleb the first through seventh degree.

The only thing saving the former rebel was the glares from his wife, which both Will and Caleb were thankful for. Will was still blaming herself for the loss of the Light to Phobos, but a few mother-father-daughters talks, support from Caleb and tongue lashing from her friends helped the redhead snap out of it a bit.

"Well, it is good two know my daughter has such good friends…though I wish someone would stop me from doing my fatherly duty," Jaden said in a bit of sour tone at the end and glancing at his wife.

"Oh leave the boy alone, Jaden! He makes your daughter happy!" Susan shot back at her husband, who glared at her, while those around the table got ready to duck under an object.

'Great! We got one of the most powerful warriors on the planet going up against one of the most powerful magic users. Should we try to stop them or sell tickets?' Irma asked into the mental link Taranee provided for the group.

'Neither, lets just stay out of their way and hope we don't get dragged in,' Caleb replied into the link. He wanted to stay out of the sights of Jaden for as long as possible.

'Wimp!' Irma mentally called out to Caleb, who got a glare from both the former rebel and his girlfriend. This instantly made the joker cower in fear because she knew how scary those two combined could be.

'Who is the wimp now?' Taranee asked into the link, both she and Hay Lin keeping their giggles at Irma's expense quiet so not to draw Susan or Jaden's attention.

While the verbal bickering between Queen and her Consort and the telepathic chatter between Neo W.I.T.C.H. continued, Raythor rushed into the room. The commander of the royal army looked terrified, which drew everyone's attention, because Raythor rarely ever looked scared.

"Your highnesses, the final battle has begun and…I can't believe what Phobos has done," The warrior told Susan and Jaden, while growing even more paler by the second.

"What has he done, Raythor? Has he mobilized his Lurdens? If so, that is hardly something to be so shaken up about. There may be many of them, but…" Susan started to say, but was quickly cut of by Raythor.

"No my Queen, he has not called on his Lurdens yet, it is much worse. He has resurrected Orgoth and is having it lead one of several small rebels armies that are heading our way!" Raythor exclaimed, which now made Susan, Jaden, and Caleb go pale.

"Why do I suddenly get the feeling we are in trouble?" Irma asked aloud, but when she did not even get a mild glance from the two royals, Caleb or Raythor, it made the Water Guardian feeling as scared as the other four looked.

Will, Hay Lin and Taranee felt the same. Usually most people of Meridian did not handle Irma's humor the same as people from Earth did. To get zero response meant this was very bad indeed.

000

A half an hour later in a large meeting hall, every one of Susan's supporters were gathered together and the girls were finding out just how bad things were, as Susan explained the situation.

"Though many present know this, I must inform you that Phobos has restored Orgoth to help him win this war. Since my daughter and her friends are unfamiliar with this threat, I'll give them a brief explanation," Susan said to those present, then turned to look at Will, Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin.

"Orgoth is a powerful golem of destruction. It is so powerful that it was strong enough to defeat the Light of Meridian when it was created. The only thing that stopped it was…the mages controlling it were drained of all their life force and allowed the heir to the throne of that time to destroy it," Susan explained, which made all the girls look horrified at this news.

"Then we all better gang up on it. There is no way it has enough power to beat all of us!" Will exclaimed, clearly worried of the same fate happening to her mother like the Queen in the story.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but that won't be possible. Phobos has broken the rebellion's forces up into several groups, preventing us from being able to do that," Susan explained and then pointed at the map on the able in the middle of the room.

"Phobos and Orgoth are in one group; Shagon, Cornelia and Lynx are in the second group; Ember, Tridart and Elyon are in the third and Phobos' reaming troops are being led by his original followers. This forces us to break up our forces to counter them, but unless we split up all our magic users and top warriors like they have, the troops we send to counter them will be destroyed," Susan told Will, who did not look like she liked what she was hearing.

"Don't worry, Will. I'll be with your mother when she confronts Phobos and Orgoth. If the legends about Orgoth are true, then his main strength is being highly resistant to magical attacks, something I don't rely on. In theory, I should be able to hold it off until you mother has defeated Phobos and retrieved the Light . Then she'll be able to banish Orgoth once again," Jaden told his daughter in hopes of calming her, but that had minimal effect.

"But there are too many things that could go wrong! What if mom can't defeat Phobos? Or if you're not strong enough to fight Orgoth? Or…" Will started to say, when Caleb came up to Will and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Will, have faith in your parents. They can handle their job, just like we can handle ours. Besides, all we have to do it take down the ones leading each group, then we can head over to help them out if we need to," Caleb told his girlfriend and caressed her face gently.

Jaden let out a small growl in the back of his throat, but Susan elbowed him in the rib and gave him 'the look'. This made the Consort of Meridian back off and allowed Susan to say, "Alright then, lets stick to how my daughter arranged things for that last battle. Face the same opponents as last time and take them down as quickly as you can! There are troops waiting out in the courtyard, they will deal with the rebels while you deal with your opponents!"

000

"At last, the final battle has begun," Cedric hissed as his unit saw the royal army approaching. As expected, he saw the familiar forms of Sandpit and Gargoyle out in the distance, so everything was going as Phobos had planned.

'They have divided their forces as expected; this will make it easy for Phobos to claim the last piece of the Light from his aunt and kill Jaden. With them out of the way, the rest will be easy pickings!' Cedric thought evilly and then turned to his troops.

"Miranda and I will deal with Sandpit and Gargoyle. Frost! Tracker! Take care of Raythor! With him down, we will crush the rest of the troops with ease!" Cedric commanded and then ordered the charge.

As the two shape shifters and the two heavy hitters of the royal army went at it once again, Frost and Tracker tried to gang up on Raythor.

"You might be a match for one of us Raythor, but not both!" Frost stated with an evil grin his face, while Tracker threw his ball and chain at Raythor. The leader of the Royal Army was quick to act though and side-stepped the attack with ease.

This left him open to Frost's charge though and the large warrior swung his ax at the other warrior. What Frost had not expected was a second highly skilled warrior being present and block the blow for Raythor!

"You!" Frost roared out in shock as he looked to see it was Julian of all people.

"That's right, Frost. Guess 'treachery' runs in the family!" Julian responded and he pushed the massive warrior away, then both Julian and Raythor stood back to back.

Raythor was glad to have his old friend watching his back once again. Before leaving the castle, Jaden had a small talk with Julian, explaining what had happened before his death. Having the word of a long lost warrior speaking of Phobos' treachery had helped Julian make his decision and join Susan's forces for the final battle.

"Feels like old times, doesn't it Raythor?" Julian asked, while keeping his eyes on Frost.

"Yeah it does. Let's see if we can finish this up quick. I got a few very good bottles of scotch that I have been saving since this war began and I would love to open them in celebration of our victory!" Raythor replied, which brought a grin to Julian's face.

"Deal! How old were they before the war though?" Julian asked in one part curiosity and one part attempt to anger Frost at being ignored.

"Seven years, was trying to age them for another five, but then saved them as a victory reward for when this war was won!" Raythor replied then both dove back into battle, wanting to pop a bottle open as soon as possible.

After all, it was a twenty-year-old scotch and neither warrior had had a good drink in years.

000

"Here they come!" Elyon called out as her group and Hay Lin, Irma and Taranee's group came charging towards them.

"This time don't attack me you overgrown ice burg!" Ember screamed at Tridart, before flying into battle.

"Same to you,hothead!" Tridart yelled back and followed after Ember, while Elyon let out a sigh.

"I'm glad that after today, this war will be over. Those warriors Phobos found are a blessing most of the time, but I worry about them. They are so aggressive - and angry," Elyon mumbles, before engaging Hal Lin once again.

The battle between Light and Air elemental users was like last time. Hay Lin could not breach Elyon's defenses, but Elyon could not land a single hit because of Hay Lin's speed and invisibility.

Tridart and Ember's battles were much different this time though. As the Ice Knight of Destruction and Fire Guardian flew at one another, they launched fireballs and ice shards at one another.

It looked like the battle was even, but Taranee knew she would gain ground eventually because her fire element had the advantage, it was just a matter of landing a few hits in, then pounding away on Tridart until he was nothing but a puddle on ground.

Irma one the other hand, was fairing a bit better, but only because it was easy to goad Ember. All the Water Guardian had to do was mock Ember until she made a mistake and then sneak a water attack in.

But despite two Guardians having an advantage on their enemies and the other tied with hers, the battle would still be a long one. Chances are that by the end of their battles, the other fights would be over or they would be too drained to help their friends.

000

With Will, Caleb and Kor's group VS the Cornelia, Shagon and Lynx group; it was off to a big start.

Lynx and Kor started round three of their grand battle. This time though, neither intended to leave until the other was defeated.

Caleb and Shagon each fired powerful blasts at one another, which exploded on impact. Both did not want too much long-range warfare this time though, their hatred for one another was too strong. They wanted the satisfaction of hand-to-hand combat.

They flew at one another and let the fists fly. Caleb connected with a punch to Shagon's metallic face, while the black-winged warrior countered with an upper cut.

Caleb continued the aerial brawl by giving a headbutt to Shagon's forehead, not caring if the other warrior had metal plating protecting it. The blow did not slow Shagon down and he kneed Caleb in the gut then gave Caleb a double ax handle to the back, sending Caleb falling downward.

But Caleb quickly recovered and with mighty snap of his wings, flew straight up with tremendous force. Using the momentum, Caleb slammed his fist into Shagon's chin and badly dazed the evil warrior.

Caleb followed though with an aerial spin kick which connected with the side of Shagon's face. It was now Shagon's turn to start falling to the ground. Shagon recovered in midair as well, but unlike Caleb, would not be countering attack.

Caleb had followed after Shagon, so when he recovered, Caleb fired a point blank Gaea blast at Shagon and sent the dark angel flying into the ground.

As Caleb touch down on the rocky terrain just bit off from where the rebel and royal forces were fighting, he called over, "You know, I have been wondering something. Mathew Olsen was not present at any of the war meetings since I joined forces with the Queen. It is also rumored he is smitten with MY girlfriend. Now let's double-check something, you seem to have your eyes on Will and whenever the young Olsen in missing, you are out causing trouble. That's a rather big coincidence, don't you think?"

Shagon was just getting to his knees when he responded, "So I have been found out. And who else has realized this little piece of information?"

"No one to my knowledge. So I'm going to give you two choices. First choice, surrender and leave the battlefield and I'll never mention this to anyone. We can forget you ever betrayed the kingdom and we can continue the 'rivalry' by more civil means. Second choice, you keep fighting and I beat you to a bloody pulp. Which will it be?" Caleb demanded in a cold tone.

Caleb could not see it, but Shagon/Matt's eyes started glow green as he replied, "I choose…NEITHER!" Shagon/Matt's head then shot up and fired powerful beam from his eyes at Caleb.

The blast scored a direct hit on Caleb's chest and sent the other boy flying into a large nearby rock. An explosion followed the second Caleb hit said rock and a cloud of dust filled the area.

"Ha! That should do it!" Shagon/Matt stated in a triumphant tone of voice, thinking Caleb had been defeated at last.

Too bad for the black winged warrior, the former rebel was far from finished. This was proven when a Gaea beam shot out from the dust cloud and blasted Shagon/Matt in the face.

"Aaaahhh!" Shagon/Matt roared out in pain, while Caleb charged out of the dust cloud and fired more Gaea beams at the dark angel.

While the two angel-like fighters continued their brawl, Cornelia and Will were having their own showdown.

The two letting loose beam attacks like there was no tomorrow, creating a light show that was as impressive as it was deadly.

"What will it take to get it through your head Cornelia that you're helping Phobos destroy Meridian?!" Will demanded from the Earth Guardian, but the blonde just let loose another beam attack in response.

Will dodged the beam and prepared to fire back, only to find Cornelia was no longer there. The redheaded princess of Meridian then heard the familiar sound of telatransporting behind her, but before she could turn to look, she got blasted from behind.

"Not so easy when you no longer have the power and ability advantage is it?" Cornelia mocked, but deep down she had been affected by Will's words. Too many things had happened for Cornelia to have her solid belief anymore, but her pride made it impossible to admit she might wrong.

As Will fell down to the ground, she quickly performed a telatransport of her own. The redheaded princess appeared right about the Earth Guardian and let loose a massive lightning bolt to weaken and partially paralyze the other girl.

Cornelia was not out of the fight just yet though. As the blonde crashed into the ground, she dug deep into her reserves of inner strength and sent a larger number of rocks flying at Will.

Will tried to Quintessence them into stopping, but the lightning did not hit some of the smaller ones and they struck Will in the head, chest and stomach. This caused the redhead to crash into the ground as well and leave her very dazed.

Both girls tried to recover quickly, so to end the battle while the other was down. But neither one would be ready to fight for a little while given what happened to both of them during the last set of attacks.

000

"Ready, Jaden?" Susan asked, as she, her husband and the troops behind them got ready to face off against Phobos, Orgoth and the rebels.

"When have I ever not been ready for a fight?" Jaden replied with a grin and shifted to his humanoid tiger form. Unlike most times though, the tiger warrior also drew his two large daggers, knowing that when he fought Orgoth, bare claws were not best to battle a person wielding a massive sword.

"Confident as ever I see." Susan mumbles, but had a small smile on her face. She found it comforting to hear his casual approach to a serious situation. After thirteen years of nonstop battle, a little lack of seriousness was a breath of fresh air to the Queen of Meridian.

After saying those words, Susan ordered the charge and took to the air. Phobos did the same and the two let loose their powers, both intent on defeating the other this day.

"With your defeat, Aunt Susan, I'll finally claim what should been mine!" Phobos hissed at his aunt, knowing he was too far up to be heard by the rebels, so his secret was safe.

Susan gave Phobos a sad and regretful smile as she replied, "If only I had spoken to you sooner Phobos, this might have been avoided. But…" Susan fished before gaining her traditional 'game face' on.

"…you are still the one responsible for your own actions and I'm going to stop you for good this time," Susan finished and then let loose a lightning blast at Phobos.

Phobos batted it aside though and counter attacked with a white energy beam, while growling out, "And have you tell me I've been compromised with those who refuse to accept change in even the slightest manner? I think not! I'll make things as they should have been!"

Susan telatransported out of the way of the attack, then verbally shot back, "And that would be what? Force your ways on the people like a petty tyrant? That is the wrong way to bring about change, Phobos!"

Susan then fired a water and air combo, hoping to turn Phobos into a frozen statue. But Phobos created a sphere of pure energy to block the freezing attack and fired back at his aunt.

"If the foolish masses desire to see me as a tyrant, then so be it. They know nothing of the indignanty I have forced to deal with for almost two decades!" Phobos countered as he and his aunt both debated and fought at the same time.

Back on the ground, Jaden was in a purely physical confrontation with Orgoth. The evil metal golem swung its missive great sword down at the tiger warrior, but Jaden blocked it with his daggers.

The blow was powerful though and it sent a vibration throughout Jaden's whole body. Even with the superhuman strength of his beast form, Jaden knew the juggernaut of darkness had a major power advantage.

'Better dodge from now on. I don't think I could block too many of those blows before my daggers break or my own bones for that matter!' Jaden thought as he leapt away from Orgoth.

The dark warrior followed Jaden, but since its main strengths were massive levels of strength, resistance to magic and being able to take a great deal of punishment; speed and agility were not that high. This allowed Jaden to avoid the charges and at least keep it busy while Susan battled Phobos.

000

An hour into the battle, both sides were quickly growing tired, which meant they were falling into Phobos' ultimate trap. This meant the real final battle was about begin.

Where Raythor, Julian and their troops were battling against Frost and Tracker's, they heard a horn being blown. Both sides stopped to see a Lurden army marching towards them, one large enough battle both sides!

"At last! It is finally time to stop playing these games!" Frost called out, which made the rebels confused, but the royal guard worried. The Lurdens charged the rebels and the royal guard, but also backed up Frost and Tracker, who were finally showing their true colors.

Both the two villains had broken off from the battle with Julian and Raythor to attack the rebels and further spread confusion and fear among their former troops. Cedric and Miranda tried to do the same, but then Sandpit and Gargoyle stopped them.

"Those cowards! All troops under my command; support the rebels against the Lurden attack!" Raythor called out, hoping to organize both forces into working together in Meridian's darkest hour.

Julian did the same for the rebels, though it was mainly fear and desperation that motivated them to working with their former enemies. Julian did not care for the reasons though; his main concern was to keep the people he once led from being slaughtered by Phobos' _real_ army.

000

Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin's battle against the Lurden army was even worse than Julian and Raythor's. This was mainly do to the fact that Tridart and Ember stopped fighting Irma and Taranee...so as to open fire on the rebels!

"What are you doing?!" Elyon screamed out in horror, but her only response was a barrage of ice shards and fireballs. Hay Lin tried help protect the other princess of Meridian, but the ice and fire warriors' attacks came too quickly and both got blasted.

Out of reflex, Elyon managed to telatransport Hay Lin and herself safely to the ground, instead of slamming into it because of the surprise attacks. Both Irma and Taranee then swooped down and got the two injured girls to safety.

Tridart and Ember did not even try to stop them, since they just went back to bombarding the rebels and guards below. This at least made it easy to ensure Elyon and Hay Lin were somewhere safe, away from the battlefield until they recovered.

"You two rest up. We will take down Ember and Tridart," Taranee told her two friends and then both she and Irma dove back into battle.

As Elyon watched the Fire and Water Guardians take flight, she asked Hay Lin, "How…how could I have been so…foolish?"

Hay Lin looked at the petite blonde and replied, "Phobos said the right things at the right time. If Irma and I did not already believe in your aunt from the start, we might have been fooled as well."

The words of the air Guardian helped Elyon a small bit, but the blonde princess of Meridian knew she did not have time to just sit here and sulk. She needed to help defeat her brother's warriors.

Sending out a wave of healing energy to restore both Hay Lin and herself to fighting strength, "Let's go Hay Lin! We got two powerful warriors and an army of drooling green creatures to take care of!" Elyon stated and got an excited cheer from the Air Guardian, as they took off to fight once again. This time though, they were on the same side.

000

At first, Ember and Tridart were on the defensive at the start of Irma and Taranee's new wave of attacks. But the two quickly recovered and were often letting stray shots head towards the troops below, forcing both Irma and Taranee to attack their enemies and guard their allies at the same time.

'We can't keep this up!' Irma called into the mind link to Taranee, who was getting worried as well. That was when a blast of wind and beams of light struck the Ice and Fire Knights.

"Let's see how you handle two on four!" Hay Lin called out and she and Elyon flew up beside Taranee and Irma.

Letting out growls of defiance, Tridart and Ember let loose a counterattack, but now with two magic users able to defend the troops below and two to attack, Tridart and Ember were not having an easy time.

This did not mean the battle was won for the girls yet. The two Knights of Destruction were not going to go down without a fight and even if they were destroyed, there were still an army of Lurdens to battle.

In the overall picture, it was still anyone's game.

000

Before the Lurden attack at Will, Kor and Caleb's location, the threesome had been going at it heavily with their adversaries .

Both Kor and Lynx looked like they had gone through a meet grinder and Caleb and Shagon/Matt had blasted and pummeled each other into the ground.

Will and Cornelia were the worse off of anyone though. The two had poured on the magic once they had recovered from the first round's attacks. The two had had caused such a ruckus with the energy beams, earthquakes and lighting storms, the troops on both sides had stopped fighting to run for cover.

This did turn out to be a good thing though, when the Lurdens arrived. The evil creatures had expected two worn out armies, not two semi rested armies staying out of the way of the magical catfight. This made it easy for the rebels and guards to hold their ground, but just barely.

"You…got to be…kidding…me!" Will exclaimed as she panted heavily from her battle with Cornelia, who was also worn out. Their clothes were torn and/or scorched and their hair was a mess. They also had nasty looking cuts from rocks being magically thrown or sent back at each and were just barely dodged in time.

"No…kidding! Of all…the time…to…have a…third party to fight!" Cornelia replied between gasps, neither girl noticing the Lurdens coming up from behind them, getting ready to strike.

"NO!" They heard Shagon's voice roar out and they turned around to see his blast blow the Lurdens away. Shagon then set down nearby and grabbed one of the Lurdens by the throat and growled out, "What about capturing the princess, but kill everything else did you not understand?! Phobos promised her to me, you stupid creature!"

Cornelia was shocked and horrified to hear this, but Will was just heavily disturbed by it all. The redhead knew of the dark angel's infatuation with her, but it still scared her to hear how much he wanted her.

'A mind clouded in darkness, but not entirely free of blame,' Will heard the Voice of Meridian say in her mind, greatly confusing the redhead.

"What does that mean?" Will asked aloud, drawing Cornelia's attention away from Shagon. "The psycho angel is obsessed with you, that's what it means!" The blonde Earth Guardian called over, not knowing Will was referring to a different situation.

Of course, Cornelia was also dealing with her own internal problems. Though Shagon had not outright said it, it seemed like he admitted Phobos had organized this attack of the Lurdens on both the rebels and the royal army. It was hard for her mind to accept, but there was little she could come up with to deny it.

"I don't think Will is talking about 'Shagon's' ranting, Cornelia." Caleb called over as he landed next to Will, knowing she could hear the voice of Meridian. The former rebel did not know what was it was saying to his girlfriend, but that did not matter to him. All that mattered was to protect Will form the traitor of the Olsen family.

Shagon threw the Lurden aside and turned to face Caleb, his eyes green and signaling he was getting ready for another attack.

"Try it and I'll destroy you, Matt!" Caleb warned Shagon/Matt and started to gather power as well. Hearing the name Matt made the riddle the Voice of Meridian had just told Will make sense.

'Mind control, but…not the complete version; Phobos used just enough to influence him I bet. It seems like Phobos' style. After all, it's what he has been doing since the start of this war!' Will mentally concluded, adding up the fact she did have an idea that the young lord had feelings for her and what she knew of Phobos' tactics.

"Matt, don't you see? Phobos probably ordered this attack on me, hoping to make it look like an accident! He is only using you and your feelings for me to make you do his dirty work!" Will called over, hoping to snap the youngest member of the Olsen family out of it.

Shagon/Matt took a step back at hearing this, as if Will's words hit their mark. But after a moment he countered, "He gave me his word that I would be the one to have your heart! Phobos would not be so foolish to give me all this power then betray me! I would destroy him if he did!"

Will shook her head and continued her attempts to reason with the manipulated boy. "He only told you what you wanted to hear and drew you further and further into his web of lies, just like he has done to the rebellion! Besides, if you care for me, then wouldn't you want me to be happy?" Will called back, setting Matt Olsen up for what would either turn him away from Phobos or make him a permanent enemy.

"Of course! I would do anything!" Shagon/Matt responded, clearly sounding like the lovestruck boy he was.

"Then let me be with the one I care about! I know if I was in your position, then I would probably not like hearing that but…what is the point of being in a one-sided relationship? No one would win in the end if it were like that," Will told the dark angle, who fell to his knees upon hearing Will's words.

The young man was unsure what to do. He had been shot down by the one who he cared for the most. 'Or is it lust? I'm not sure, but what do I do now? I have done so much wrong in that bastard's name!' The young lord thought in despair before letting out a scream of rage.

Will, Caleb and Cornelia thought that Shagon/Matt was going to attack them, but then saw him take to the air and fire on the Lurdens. It was hard to say if Shagon/Matt had sided with them or was just venting some anger, but either way, it was taking out Lurdens so no one complained.

000

"I can't believe you would launch such a cowardly attack!" Susan exclaimed, when the Lurdens had arrived at the battle. The Lurdens, combined with Orgoth and Phobos, had completely devastated the bulk of the troops unlike the other battles, where the rebels and guards had managed to get lucky and work together quickly enough to avoid being slaughtered.

Upon seeing his real army arrive, Phobos unleashed a powerful barrage of attacks into the crowd below, greatly shrinking their numbers. Only Jaden and one third of the royal army had survived. The rebels had only a fourth of their original number and so even with the royal army helping the battle was a loosing one.

"You call it cowardly, I call it being efficient. Let's let the historians decide," Phobos said with an evil smirk. The smile had infuriated Susan to no end because of how ruthless and unnecessary the attack on the troops below was.

'All those lives lost and he does not even care!' Susan screamed in her mind and attacked with everything she had. Lightning bolts, water blasts, chunks of earth, fireballs and howling winds. It was display of pure elemental power that had Phobos on the defensive, but also greatly drained Queen Susan.

Phobos on the other hand, was still ready to fight. He was a bit weakened from the barrage of the five elementals, but he managed to hold his defense and conserved his strength until his aunt had exhausted hers.

"Impressive, Aunt Susan, but now it's my turn!" Phobos stated and fires a blast that sent Susan slamming into the ground below.

"Susan!" Jaden roared out and dove out of battle with Orgoth and ran over to his wife's side.

Phobos let out a cackle at this display and called down to his uncle, "What's wrong, Uncle? Don't think your wife can take what she once could dish out!" The words angered the tiger-shaped shifter, but even he could not jump up high enough to attack Phobos.

"Why don't you come down here and see if you are brave, Phobos!" Jaden roared in a furry, wanting to tear Phobos' heart from his chest.

"And why would I do that when I could simply have Orgoth fight you in my place? I really never was the physical type after all, Uncle," Phobos responded and watched his newest minion march toward Jaden, ready to destroy the tiger warrior.

As Jaden prepared to defend Susan to his final breath, he heard his daughter's voice call out, "Then let's how much of a magic type you are!"

Phobos turned to see Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin fluttering a few feet behind him. Will was in Guardian form, but this was no Glamour. This was the real deal; proven by the Heart being around her neck, the massive boost in power and the pink aura surrounding her. All the girls had an aura around them, each having a color that matched their element.

It took a moment for Phobos to realize what was happening, then sensing two different energies in the girls. One was the Heart of Candracar, but the other was Meridian magic!

"You all merged your powers into the Heart!" Phobos exclaimed in horror, knowing that their power now dwarfed his own stolen magic.

"That's right, Phobos! And now we are going to bring you down!" Will stated to her cousin, while Irma added, "Oh and don't expect any backup to arrive. They are all a bit occupied at the moment!"

000

What Irma had said was no bluff. With Shagon/Matt back on the Queen's side, it had been easy for Will and her group to deal with the Lurdens. It was also thanks to the former Knight of Destruction that the rebels fully converted to the Queen's side and they moved to where Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin had been fighting.

Tridart and Ember had been badly weakened when the reinforcements arrived and with a massive boost in both troops and magic users, it was a breeze to wipe out the enemies there as well.

After that, Caleb, Irma, Hay Lin and Taranee merged their pendants with the Heart and Cornelia returned it to Will. The redhead then merged her own power with the Heart and now the girls were supercharged with mystic energy.

Caleb took all the troops, Shagon and Elyon to deal with the forces that Raythor and Julian had been fighting and left the original W.I.T.C.H. to deal with Phobos.

000

"I still have Orgoth and the Light of Meridian! I will not be defeated!" Phobos roared out in defiance and prepared to attack but the Guardians attacked first.

"Air!" Ha Lin called out and used a whirlwind to slam Phobos into the ground, next to Orgoth, while Cornelia stepped up to the plate.

"Earth!" The Earth Guardian called and the ground crumbled underneath Phobos and Orgoth and they fell into a deep pit.

"My turn, Fire!" Taranee stated and added her element to the combo. Fireballs rained down into the hole, but Phobos was able to shield himself with his powers, while Orgoth took the hits like he was built to do.

Too bad for them, Taranee was just setting up Orgoth for Irma's attack, who called out, "Water!" The Water Guardian made sure to make the stream as cold as she possibly could and for good reason. When something that is very hot suddenly got very cold, it breaks! That was something not even Orgoth's heavy defense against magic could not stop.

The evil golem started to crack and his power was greatly weakened as well, leaving it up to Will to deliver the final blow. "Quintessence!" Will yelled out, pouring all her anger at what was done to her mother, father and the people because of Phobos and his evil servants.

The lightning struck the weakened juggernaut of evil and shattered it, followed by a wave of dark magic. Phobos escaped the small explosion by telatransporting out of the hole just in time and looked up at the Guardians with a hateful expression on his face.

"You destroyed my ultimate weapon! I'll make you pay for that!" Phobos yelled at W.I.T.C.H., while the people watching the battle stared in awe at the sight of Orgoth being defeated by the five girls.

"It seems our daughter has done what we could not. Defeat Meridian's most feared enemies, including one of legendary power," Jaden heard Susan say and turned to see his wife getting up at last.

"Are you alright, Susan? Phobos hit you very hard with that last attack," Jaden asked, hoping Susan was not too badly hurt.

"I'm fine, Jaden, I shouldn't have used all my energy on a single offensive though. Now Will has to finish Phobos off when it should be my job," Susan assured her husband, though did feel very sore from Phobos' blast.

With nothing to shield herself from the attack, Susan knew she had probably taken damage she had not even noticed yet and would probably be at Lucia's mercy for at least a few days.

Back where Phobos was facing off against the Guardians, the evil prince was trying to figure out a strategic escape. Right now he was fighting on someone else's terms and he never did that. He preferred to fight when it was to his advantage and he had lost that.

'How did things go so wrong? The plan was simple, wait until both sides were weakened and then the Lurdens would move in and wipe them all out! Whenever things go wrong, it is that redheaded brat's fault, I just know it!' Phobos mentally fumed, but was snapped out his internal ranting by Will's voice.

"Alright, Phobos, it is time to bring this to an end! And I can't think of a better way than to use an attack we used on our fist day as Guardians. Only this time, I'll be able to control it!" Will stated and gave the other girls a wink.

The others knew what Will meant and could not wait to see what that attack could do when it was controlled, instead of shooting around wildly. Each girl got into position and directed their energy to Will in the form pink energy.

Will gathered the power in her hands and then fired the pink bolt at Phobos who fired back in a hope to counter it. The pink lighting like beam struck the white lighting beam and for a moment, the two pushed against one another.

But the tie lasted for only a moment, since Phobos' power was no match for the power of the five Guardians and it quickly struck Phobos in the chest. "Aaaahhhh!" Phobos cried out in pain and at the same time, felt the Light of Meridian and all the life force he stole being drained away.

The power was flowing back into Susan and as it did, her strength returned. Susan quickly flew up next to the girls and asked, "Mind if I join in?" The girls all nodded their head with smiles on their face. (Though Cornelia looked a bit nervous, since she had not exactly been the nicest person towards the Queen until now)

"Don't worry…Cornelia was it? We can talk about certain 'incidents' later, Susan said to the Earth Guardian, who was not sure if she should draw comfort from those words or be scared out of her mind.

Cornelia put those thoughts aside and each girl fired a beam of light at Phobos, each matching the color of their element or in Susan's case a white light. It trapped him in a cage of electrical energy.

Beams of light also traveled across Meridian, capturing every last one of Phobos' Lurdens and his elite warriors. The war was over at last!

000

Epilogue:

'Shagon' had gone 'missing' after the final battle for Meridian and those who knew of his secret agreed to keep quiet about it. Unless they heard of a black winged warrior causing trouble, why ruin the happy mood of the war being finally over with trials of treachery?

Meridian had gone through enough and Matt seemed to settle down a bit, though Caleb kept a close eye on the young Lord, just in case.

Phobos and his minions had been moved to the Mage's hidden prison in the Infinite City where she and the royal guard would keep watch over them.

It took two weeks for the rebels and the royal family to arrange the formal end to the war because of the confusion of the last battle and the need to attend to the wounded, as well as grieve for those lost.

As both Susan and Caleb (since he had been the Rebellion's original leader) signed the treaty, the crowed cheered. They had all waited for this day for a long time and were glad to see those dark days behind them.

"My people! Thanks to all of you, we have finally restored peace to our world! The long task of rebuilding will begin tomorrow, but today let us celebrate!" Susan called out to the crowd, who once again cheered, but then waited for something to happen, much to the Queen's confusion.

This ended when Will said, "For us, the rebuilding beings tomorrow. For you…and dad, it begins in two weeks. You are on mandatory vacation!" With that, Susan felt her crown float off her head and land on Will's, thanks to a certain Earth Guardian and telekinesis.

"The civil war is not over for more than two minutes and you have already have a second one on your hands," Irma joked, while Jaden added, "But this time it's one you lose before it even begins."

Jaden then swept his wife off her feet and carried her away bridal style while the crowed laughed and cheered as Susan called back, "I'll deal with all of you when I get back!"

As they got further away though, Susan whispered to Jaden, "There is one thing I have to care of before we have our little vacation," The tone in Susan's whisper made it clear it was an urgent matter so Jaden agreed and quickly took Susan where she needed to go.

000

In the underground prison, Nerissa was making her move. She had taken care of the guards and was getting ready to free the prisoners she thought would be useful for her plans when she heard a voice call out, "You will stop right this minute!"

Nerissa spun around to see Susan and a transformed Jaden in front of the waterfall entrance.

"How could have you known!" Nerissa hissed as she raised her hand to attack, but Susan acted first.

"Quintessence!" Susan called out and knocked the old woman over with a single shot. As Susan and Jaden approached the prone woman, Susan answered the old hag's question. "The Voice of Meridian alerted me of the Mage's death long ago. I only left you alone until I dealt with Phobos, so as not to have two enemies at once," Susan told Nerissa and was about to throw the former Keeper of the Heart into an empty cell when a purple portal opened up behind them.

The Oracle, Tibor and Halinor stepped through, much to Susan's annoyance. "You had your chance to deal with her, now it's my turn," Susan said in a cold tone, while Jaden towered over Nerissa, so as to prevent her from escaping if she tried.

"I understand you are still upset with what your daughter has been put through under my watch, Queen Susan. But Nerissa is the Council's responsibility, so please allow us to deal with her. You already have Phobos to deal with; let's not risk leaving two potential threats for your world to watch over," the Oracle said in hopes of reasoning with Susan, but she did not look like she was going to cooperate.

"Susan, he is right. If she is as great a threat as you believe, let's not have her AND Phobos on the same world. We know we can deal with Phobos should he escape, but a former Guardian is a different matter," Jaden told Susan, knowing she would be more likely to listen to him than the Oracle.

Susan closed her eyes for moment, as if pondering her response before saying, "Alright…take her. But I expect you to stay off Meridian until my vacation is over. I know you'll want to restore the Heart to its original state and I want to be there when you do."

The Oracle nodded his head in acceptance, but before leaving he asked, "If you don't mind, I would like to ask Elyon to become Keeper of the Heart when that happens. There must be five Guardians for them to have full strength and with your daughter the heir to the throne; Elyon is the only suitable replacement."

Susan was tempted to say no, but then thought she should leave that up to Elyon. It was her decision after all. "Fine, now go before I change my mind!" Susan ordered and the Council took Nerissa away.

After they were gone, Susan turned to Jaden and asked, "So what do we do first? We are on vacation after all." This got Jaden to smile and he moved in to give Susan a deep kiss when Phobos said, "Can you please do that somewhere else? I'm feeling ill enough as it is!"

There was also gagging noises from Frost so both got a lightning bolt from an annoyed Queen before Susan and Jaden went back to what they were doing before telatransporting away.

000

And there you have it. There maybe a sequal in the future but no promises, want to focus on my other stories and make plans to use new ideas for new fics. Please let me know what you thought please.


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